The match, held at the Azersun Arena, was briefly paused after Sol Gordon opened the scoring in the second half, with reports indicating that an individual among a group of home ultras aimed racial slurs at Chelsea players.

In a club statement released ahead of their senior side's Champions League fixture against Qarabag, Chelsea confirmed: "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.

"We have reported this to UEFA and expect a full investigation," they concluded.

Qarabag have since issued an apology to Chelsea and pledged cooperation with any formal inquiry. The Blues emphasised their zero-tolerance policy toward racism and discrimination in any form, reiterating their commitment to protecting their young players.

The 5-0 victory placed Chelsea's U19s top of the table, but the result was overshadowed by the incident, which has renewed calls for UEFA to strengthen its disciplinary measures against racism within European youth competitions.

S. Mheuka

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