THERE are of course a huge number of items that fans are banned from bringing into football grounds.
But your casual footie fan might not know that CELERY appears on the prohibited items list of Premier League giants Chelsea.
That’s right – the stalky green vegetable that is virtually inedible is a big no-no at Stamford Bridge.
Blues fans’ love for the plant dates back to the 1980s – and it has nothing to do with the high levels of vitamin C it contains.
Well-known Chelsea fan Mickey Greenaway is said to have belted out lyrics to a song called ‘Ask Old Brown To Tea’.
It went: “Ask old Brown for tea and all the family. If he don’t come, we’ll tickle his bum with a lump of celery.”
Legendary pop due Chas and Dave even did a cover of the song on their 2001 “A Cockney Christmas” album.
However Chelsea fans tweaked the song, to give it a cheeky, sexy vibe.
It now goes: “Celery, Celery, If she don’t c***, I’ll tickle her bum with a lump of celery.”
The song would then be accompanied with the throwing of celery around the old Shed terraces.
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Thesetpieces.com adds that the celery song is also sung at Gillingham, where the wild celery was reportedly growing on the pitch during the summer break.
Either way, boisterous Chelsea supporters decided celery would become a terrace favourite – but the club were forced to act.
And the reason it became banned? Because fans used to smuggle it into the ground and lob onto the pitch, and occasionally at opposition players.
In 2007 the League Cup final clash against Arsenal actually had to be STOPPED by the referee when hordes of the vegetable were chucked onto the turf.
Cesc Fabregas, then of Arsenal but who later joined Chelsea, was particularly annoyed when he was hit by a stalk when trying to take a corner.
After the game, Chelsea released a club statement reminding fans it was a CRIMINAL OFFENCE to throw celery from the terraces.
It read: “The throwing of anything at a football match, including celery, is a criminal offence for which you can be arrested and end up with a criminal record.
“In future, if anyone is found attempting to bring celery into Stamford Bridge they could be refused entry and anyone caught throwing celery will face a ban.”
There was even a HOTLINE set up where fans could snitch on each other for carrying the vegetable into grounds with “all calls treated in confidence”.
In 2013 the UK GOVERNMENT even warned fans not to take celery to a European game against Sparta Prague, alongside “drinks, poles, flares and weapons”.
But if there is one thing Blues fans have, it’s persistence.
Celery continues to be smuggled into games – more often away grounds these days.
And even Chelsea’s own players have been humorously pelted with the food stuff at trophy parades.
Though the way things are going for Graham Potter and his current squad, there doesn’t look like being any silverware shown off anytime soon.
In 2006 Damien Duff was spotted lobbing celery back at the crowd from the open top bus parading the Premier League title and Community Shield.
Didier Drogba decided to show off his fast arm by firing the vegetable back at adoring fans during Chelsea’s 2015 Premier League title parade.
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Mick Greenaway’s chant has been modified by Chelsea fans over the years – the lyrics are far too explicit to write here.
But seemingly the superfood celery will continue to be a Stamford Bridge regular – whether in song or secretly sneaked in.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
