Chelsea have condemned alleged racist abuse from at least one Qarabag supporter during an Academy match in Azerbaijan.
Striker Sol Gordon, 17, opened the scoring in the 57th minute at Azersun Stadium in Baku and celebrated the goal with a section of fans, who ran to face the players.
Eyewitnesses told BBC Sport that they saw and heard monkey movements.
The game was stopped for several minutes while the players complained to the Ukrainian Referee Dytro Kubati, as well as the coaching staff, including Head Coach Calum McFarlane, who were involved in the discussions.
It looked as if Chelsea might stop playing the match, but they continued after the stoppage and won 5-0.
Winger Jesse Derry, who was booked to celebrate in front of the home supporters in a sad way, instead of SHIM MHEKA and Frankie Radham SireD.
In a statement, Chelsea said: “We are aware of an incident during the UEFA Youth League Firet in Azerbaijan in which a person was abused by a large number of people.
“Racism and all forms of behavioral bias are completely unacceptable and have no place in football or in the judgment of individual actions.
“Our players have the full support of everyone at the club, and we escalated the incident immediately in preparation for the UEFA match and home club: we expect this matter to be investigated under UEFA’s disciplinary procedures.
“We are proud of the way our players and staff responded on the pitch, quickly reported it to the referee, and appreciate the professional features and appropriate line of UEFA protocols.
A Qarabag spokesperson quickly moved to say “sorry”, expressing their surprise at the incident, saying it “doesn’t represent the values of the club”, promising to investigate it “thoroughly” in due course.
UEFA’s Disciplinary Body will respond to the referee’s report before making any decisions.
Chelsea are currently top of the Youth League table with four wins from four matches.