QARABAG FK youth will have to play their next Uefa match behind closed doors, and have been hit with fine of €5,000.
That’s because of the racist and/or discriminatory behaviour of its supporters when they faced off against Chelsea in the UEFA Youth League.
At the time of the incident aimed at Chelsea youth star Sol Gordon, the game was halted by the referee.
When Gordon, one of several black players in the Chelsea team, gave the Blues the lead just before the hour, monkey gestures and noises were aimed at the Chelsea youngsters while celebrating their 1-0 lead.
Chelsea then came out with a statement, condemning the treatment of their young stars.
It read: “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.
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“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.”
A Qarabag spokesperson at the time said: “We are sorry about this incident.
“It does not represent the values of our club, and we will investigate thoroughly.”
22 days after the incident, Qarabag’s punishment has been decided, with a statement reading: “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.”
Chelsea’s Youth League campaign has been off to a flyer, as they sit second in the table, only behind Real Madrid.
They won four in a row before a 1-1 draw with Barcelona at Cobham on Tuesday.
At 1-0 down, the game was rescued by young Moroccan hero Ibrahim Rabbaj, a highly rated talent in the Blues’ Cobham setup.
