THERE is absolutely no excuse for the racist behaviour of so-called Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro on Tuesday.

I say 'so-called' because, as a football fan, I do not want the sport I love associated in any way, shape or form with these morons.

Sadly, of course, despite the sterling efforts of several organisations and the vast majority of supporters, there are some who still use football as an excuse to spout their vile views.

British football has tried to take the high ground on racism in recent years, rightly condemning racist chants from supporters of Eastern European and Spanish clubs.

We like to turn up our noses and shake our heads at comments from the likes of the AC Milan and Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi, who this week claimed there were too many black players in the Italian youth system.

And then the video of the Chelsea yobs surfaces and decades of good work is undone in a few moments.

The behaviour of these people is utterly reprehensible and totally undeniable.

From within the safety of a Metro carriage they chant 'Where were you in World War Two?' at French commuters on the platform.

And then, using the classic bully's ploy of safety in numbers, they refuse to let a black man on to their carriage, twice pushing him off the train despite the man's remonstrations.

They then sing: "We're racist and that's how we like it."

These people are so fundamentally stupid that they cannot appreciate that much of Chelsea's success in recent years is due to outstanding players like Didier Drogba and Claude Makelele.

Forget for a moment the club and the sport these people claim to support. Let us strip this down to the basic facts.

These are British people embarrassing their country. Pure and simple.

Thankfully, the days when wonderful footballers like John Barnes and Laurie Cunningham were subjected to bananas being thrown from the terraces because of the colour of their skin are long gone.

But it would seem the twisted logic behind such actions still remains in the neanderthal minds of a minority of people.

Hopefully, the vile creatures on the Paris Metro will be identified (a number of their faces are clear in the video) and dealt with, both by the French police and the football authorities.

More worrying, in my view, was the number of people who took to social media and news websites to defend the behaviour of the brain-dead.

Here are just a few examples. These are genuine comments left on news websites in the UK.

"(He) should of (sic) used the other door once he realised they were blocking his way ... would of (sic) saved a lot of aggro."

"It looks to me as if the man is trying to squeeze into a carriage that is packed with Chelsea fans and they are telling him to get on further down. Would this have made news if it was a white man? No I thought not."

"Big deal! They've had a few pints! If they had just pushed him off and didn't say anything would that have been racist???"

There are far, far more comments across the web condemning the behaviour of the idiots on the Metro - but what chance does our society have of being truly tolerant when there are people in our midst willing to defend racists?

UKIP drama causes a stir

MORE than 1,000 people have complained about Channel 4's drama 'UKIP: The First 100 Days' following its broadcast on Monday night.

All the complaints, either to Ofcom or C4, claimed the programme was unfair to Ukip in the run-up to May's general election.

I think those who have protested have missed the point.

Firstly, it was a work of fiction not a documentary.

Secondly, the period during which all media are governed by election law hasn't started yet.

But there was definite cause for complaint about the drama. It was rubbish.

It was badly conceived, written and performed.

Those who have complained should have just done what I did - switched it off.