Chelsea and Ted Lasso blasted for 'disrespectful' moment in new season

Fans of the TV show Ted Lasso have blasted the series producers and Chelsea Football Club over a “distasteful” moment in the new series.

The well-liked Apple original TV series sees the main character, Ted Lasso, who is American, become the manager of the fictional UK football side AFC Richmond.

Season 3 of the show began on the streaming site on 15 March, but one part of the most recent episode caught viewers’ attention for the wrong reasons.

The controversial moment occurred in relation to a fictional character called Roy Kent, who is loosely based on Manchester United legend and football pundit Roy Keane.

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In the scene, Kent went back to Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea FC, who the character played for, where a banner read: “They don’t make them like Roy anymore.”

Fans in the stands also chanted: “He’s here, he’s there, he’s every-f**king where, Roy Kent, Roy Kent.”

But, the banner featured was actually the edited version of a real banner at Stamford Bridge which hangs in memory of Ray Wilkins, who died in 2018. The banner actually reads: “They don’t make them like Ray anymore.”

A screenshot of the moment was shared online with the caption: “No Chelsea. Just no.”

Other fans on social media also shared their disgust. One called the edit “very distasteful.”

Someone else wrote: “Wtf is this, who agreed this is ok.”

Another said: “This is horrendous. Disrespectful on so many levels.”

The official Chelsea Supporters’ Trust issued a statement, writing: “This is a banner paid for by supporters to commemorate a Chelsea legend: Ray Wilkins.

“Many supporters have seen this edit to be disrespectful, and we have expressed our disappointment to club officials.

“We expect that CFC will address this in due course.”

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly tweeted about the situation: “We had nothing to do these arrangements. The deal w/ Apple was struck in 1Q/22.

“We are sorry it affected so many and mostly we care about Ray and his family. We would also point out that none of the ‘Chelsea’ players were actual Chelsea players. Hopefully, that was clear.”

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