CHELSEA have strongly condemned racist abuse aimed at their youth players during their clash with Qarabag.
Members of the Blues’ Under-19 side were visibly upset after an incident involving at least one fan of their Azerbaijani opponents in the Uefa Youth League.
The flashpoint came when Sol Gordon, one of a number of black players in the Chelsea team, gave the Blues the lead just before the hour.
Eyewitnesses reported monkey gestures and noises as the Chelsea youngsters celebrated the breakthrough.
A Chelsea spokesperson 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.
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“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.”
The game was halted while Chelsea players complained to the Ukrainian referee and spoke to coaching staff.
“At one point it seemed Chelsea might leave the field.
But the match resumed and the Blues ran out 5-0 winners to maintain their 100 per cent record in the competition.
Jesse Derry, who scored twice, was booked for celebrating in front of the fans involved in the alleged incident.
Uefa will study the referee’s report before deciding whether to take official action.
A Qarabag spokesperson said: “We are sorry about this incident.
“It does not represent the values of our club and we will investigate thoroughly.”
