KEN BATES WE SALUTE YOU

CLUB STATEMENT

Leeds United have issued a statement in response to Chelsea's announcement that they have lodged a formal complaint with the Football Association against chairman Ken Bates.

A club spokesman said: "We are totally amused and look forward to receiving their (Chelsea Football Club's) detailed evidence to support their complaint."

Meanwhile, Leeds chairman Ken Bates said: "I haven't laughed so much since Ma caught her tits in the mangle."

Leeds United will be making no further comment at this stage.

Meanwhile, from the Guardian:

Guardian Unlimited rang the club to verify the authenticity of the quote and was assured "well, that's what he said, we wouldn't make it up."

On August 2 Bates held a press conference to discuss his tapping up allegations and recalled a conversation he had with the Chelsea director Eugene Tenenbaum. He said Tenenbaum made a reference to some people taking Chelsea for "a bunch of schmucks from Siberia", to which Bates replied, "if you carry on behaving the way you are, you'll be taken for a bunch of shysters from Siberia".

Chelsea say that statement offends the sensitivities of a club whose owner is a prominent member of the Jewish community. They say they waited 16 days before filing a complaint because they expected the FA to take action independently and also needed to consult their legal advisors.

"Chelsea [have] filed a complaint with the Football Association against Ken Bates and Leeds United for bringing the game into disrepute," said the London club in a statement last night. "There are existing football rules [E3 and E4] that prohibit rude, insulting and inappropriate comments being made about other club owners, chairmen and personnel.

"In particular we are concerned by the implications of Mr Bates' reference to the Chelsea directors as 'a bunch of shysters from Siberia' and the discriminatory nature of this in terms of race, nationality and religion [rule E4]. Such comments have no place in football, a sport which is rightly committed to fighting racial intolerance and bigotry."

The FA has undertaken to review the comments before deciding whether to pursue charges.