Chelsea have condemned alleged racist abuse from a Qarabag fan following an academy match in Baku.
Chelsea’s Under-19s academy side were 5-0 winners against the Azerbaijani side in the UEFA Youth League on Wednesday as they made it four wins from four shortly before Enzo Maresca's first team prepared to take on the same club in the Champions League league phase.
Sol Gordon, the 17-year-old Chelsea striker, scored the game’s first goal after 57 minutes at the Azersun Stadium.
He and the Chelsea players celebrated close to a number of fans, who approached the advertising hoarding to confront the players.
A report from BBC Sport indicates that eyewitnesses alleged that they saw monkey gestures.
Ukrainian referee Dmytro Kubriak then stopped the match for a period of a few minutes while players, Chelsea head coach Calum McFarlane and members of his coaching staff complained to officials.
A Chelsea statement 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.”
The statement continued: “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.”
A Qarabag spokesperson insisted the alleged abuse “does not represent the values of the club”.
The UEFA disciplinary body will await the referee’s report before considering next steps and any possible charges.
