Qarabag FK have been fined €5,000 after their supporters were found guilty of racist behaviour against Chelsea earlier this month. Chelsea's UEFA Youth League victory over Qarabag was halted temporarily after an opening goal from Sol Gordon in the 58th minute was followed by a home fan appearing to make racist gestures towards the Premier League club’s players.
Chelsea’s players were visibly upset and complained to the Ukrainian referee, Dmytro Kubriak, who stopped the match and consulted the coaching staff of both teams in the technical area. The match then resumed, and Calum McFarlane's side went on to win 5-0 thanks to a brace from Jesse Derry and further strikes from Mheuka and Frankie Runham.
UEFA's disciplinary body confirmed at the time that they would wait for the referee's report before making any decisions. However, they have now confirmed that Qarabag have been charged with "racist and/or discriminatory behaviour".
The Azerbaijan Premier League club has also been fined €5,000 and ordered to play one youth game behind closed doors, although that punishment is suspended for one year.
A statement from UEFA read: “The CEDB has decided: To fine Qarabağ FK Youth €5,000 and to order Qarabağ FK Youth to play its next one (1) UEFA competition match as host club behind closed doors, for the racist and/or discriminatory behaviour of its supporters. Said match behind closed doors is suspended during a probationary period of one (1) year, starting from the date of the present decision.”
At the time, Qarabag said in a statement: “We are sorry about this incident. It does not reflect the values of our club. We will investigate it thoroughly.”
While a Chelsea statement released after the game, said: “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.”
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