Chelsea have condemned racist abuse following the cancellation of their UEFA Youth League game against Qarabag in Baku, amid allegations of racial abuse targeting the Blues Under-19 team. Members of Chelsea’s youth squad were visibly distressed following the incident involving a crowd, and the referee called off the match in the Azerbaijani capital.
The young Blues were leading 1-0 thanks to a play from Sol Gordon, but play was stopped. Gordon and his colleagues were celebrating near a small group of Qarabagh Ultras when the collision occurred. According to Football.London, witnesses at the match reported seeing and hearing monkey gestures and sounds.
Chelsea said in a statement: “We are aware of an incident during a UEFA Youth League match in Azerbaijan today in which several players were subjected to racist abuse by a person in the crowd after scoring a goal.
“Racism and all forms of discriminatory behavior are completely unacceptable and have no place in football or indeed society. We strongly condemn the actions of the individuals responsible.
“Our players have the full support of everyone at the club and we have immediately reported this matter to the UEFA match representative and home club. We expect this matter to be thoroughly investigated under UEFA’s disciplinary procedures.”
“We are proud of our players and staff for responding to the on-pitch incident and promptly reporting it to the referee, and we commend them for handling the matter professionally and appropriately in line with UEFA regulations.”
“Chelsea Football Club is extremely proud of the diversity within our team and across the club and will continue to work with UEFA to ensure those responsible for acts of discrimination in football are held to account.”
Qarabag released a statement saying: “We regret this incident. It does not represent our club’s values and will be thoroughly investigated.”
After a short break, the game continued with Chelsea scoring a big 5-0 victory, with Jesse Derry scoring twice and Sim Meuka and Frankie Lanham adding one each.
