Chelsea's first black player Paul Canoville has apologised to Conor Gallagher for helping spark a social media pile-on after the England star appeared to ignore a black mascot.
Gallagher's Instagram account was flooded with comments calling him a racist after a short clip showing the Chelsea captain accidentally blanking the youngster in the Stamford Bridge tunnel went viral.
Chelsea condemned the 'completely unacceptable' abuse of Gallagher in a statement on Wednesday, saying the clip 'had been taken considerably out of context.'
Canoville played for Chelsea between 1981 and 1986, defying racist abuse from elements of the team's own support.