Chelsea fans involved in the club's pre-match displays have taken to Twitter to explain the "embarrassing" gaffe which led to a large Eden Hazard banner being unfurled in the Matthew Harding Stand ahead of Sunday's match with Liverpool.
Viewers on Sky Sports were left bemused as supporters unravelled a vast banner of Hazard in the lower tier behind the goal ahead of kick-off.
It is not unusual for Chelsea to celebrate current players and legends ahead of home matches, but given the Belgium international left the club for Real Madrid in the summer it was considered by many too early for such an honour.
Though Hazard departed on good terms after a seven-year stint at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are still coming to terms with his exit and are yet to win a league game at home since his £130million transfer.
Chelsea fan page We Are The Shed said on Twitter: "People actually thinking the Hazard flag was used on purpose by the Matthew Harding stand. Just an error that's all.
"So much work/effort goes into organising these things and having so many flags it was bound to happen one day! Wasn't ideal but if we can't laugh at ourselves."
CFCUK Fanzine tweeted: "Was embarrassing I agree but it is the club who inadvertently gave us the wrong banner to display.
"Too complicated to go into how the procedure works but by the time we realised the wrong banner was going out it was too late to stop it - it won't happen again."
