Chelsea fan in Paris Metro video posed with Farage

Photograph: Chelsea fan Josh Parsons poses with Ukip leader Nigel Farage in a picture uploaded to Instagram four months ago.

A Chelsea fan filmed while racist chants were being shouted on the Paris Metro is a finance worker that has been photographed posing with Ukip leader Nigel Farage.

Finance worker Josh Parsons, 21, was identified online as one of around 40 or 50 fans present when a black man was pushed off a train.

The assistant at the Business and Commercial Finance Club in London’s Mayfair was not at work on Thursday, as a police investigation into last weekend’s events continued.

There is currently no suggestion that Mr Parsons was involved in the pushing or the chanting, but he could be a vital witness for inquiries being conducted both by the French authorities and Scotland Yard.

‘Full force of the law’

Meanwhile a picture has emerged of Mr Parsons posing with Ukip leader Nigel Farage, but the party denied that he is a member and claimed that it has never heard of him.

A Ukip spokesman said: “This photograph was taken outside a London pub. Mr Farage is photographed with and by dozens of people, both by supporters and opponents on a daily basis.

“Ukip and Mr Farage find the behaviour of the suspected Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro to be disgraceful, and shames both the country and Chelsea Football Club.

“We are delighted that the identities of these people are being revealed, and that they will face the full force of the law.”

The passenger in question has spoken out against the attack in an interview with Le Parisien, published on Thursday morning. The man, named only as ‘Souleymane S’ said he “understood very well that they were targeting me because of the colour of my skin”.

He added: “These people, these English fans should be found, punished and locked up. What happened should not go unpunished.”

‘The carriage was full up’

In a separate development, a 17-year-old Chelsea fan who was also on the train has spoken to a number of media outlets defending the incident, claiming there was no racism involved. Mitchell McCoy told LBC that the encounter between the fans and the passenger was a standoff.

“The carriage was full up, there was no room for him to get on and he tried to force himself on. He was really aggressive, pushing himself. I’d say it was self defence, pushing him off.”

Asked whether the pushing and chanting were connected, he said: “No of course it wasn’t connected. The press are trying to make something out of nothing.”

Mr Parsons’ family has stood by him, saying that the incident had “come out of the blue”. His aunt Louise told the Evening Standard: “He is a lovely boy and has never been in any trouble. He is a lifelong Chelsea fan and that has never been a problem.

She added: “I have seen the footage but have not yet spoken to him. We do not know what to make of it but it is a shock to the family. He is a lovely gentle boy who would not hurt anyone.”