Chelsea's UEFA Youth League game against Qarabag was suspended after the Blues' Under-19s side were allegedly subjected to racist abuse
Chelsea U19s were in action against Qarabag FK in the UEFA Youth League this afternoon.
View 2 Images
Chelsea have slammed racist chants that were aimed at the Blues' Under-19s squad after their UEFA Youth League fixture against Qarabag in Baku was halted. Members of Chelsea's academy were clearly distressed following an incident involving supporters in the crowd, prompting the referee to abandon the match in Azerbaijan's capital.
The young Blues were ahead 1-0 through Sol Gordon when play was suspended. Gordon and his team-mates had been celebrating close to a small group of Qarabag ultras when the confrontation occurred.
Witnesses present at the fixture report seeing and hearing monkey gestures and sounds, football.london report.
Chelsea released a statement saying: "We are aware of an incident during today's UEFA Youth League match in Azerbaijan in which, after scoring, a number of our players were subjected to racist abuse from an individual in the crowd.
"Racism and all forms of discriminatory behaviour are completely unacceptable and have no place in football or indeed in society. We strongly condemn the actions of the individual responsible.
"Our players have the full support of everyone at the club, and we have raised the incident immediately with the UEFA match delegate and home club: We expect this matter to be investigated fully under UEFA's disciplinary procedures.
"We are proud of the way our players and staff responded to the incident on the pitch, swiftly reporting it to the referee, and commend those for dealing with the matter professionally and appropriately in line with UEFA protocols.
"Chelsea Football Club is immensely proud of the diversity within our team and across our entire club and will continue to work with UEFA to ensure that those responsible for discriminatory behaviour in football are held accountable."
Chelsea's senior side are in Champions League action against Qarabag this evening in Baku.
Chelsea's senior side are in Champions League action against Qarabag this evening in Baku.
View 2 Images
Qarabag issued their own statement saying: "We are sorry about this incident. It does not represent the values of our club and we will investigate thoroughly."
Following a short delay, the match continued and Chelsea secured a commanding 5-0 victory with Jesse Derry netting twice whilst Shim Mheuka and Frankie Runham each found the back of the net once.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Content Image
Content Image