Aston Villa have announced they will report Albanian club KF Skënderbeu to UEFA for alleged racist behaviour towards Under-19 players and staff during their UEFA Youth League match on Tuesday night.
The match was held in Korçë, for the first round of the second phase, and ended with a score of 1-1.
“Aston Villa can confirm that it will report KF Skënderbeu to UEFA following racist abuse suffered by our players and staff by some fans of the Albanian club during a Youth League match,” the British club said in a statement on Wednesday. “The club does not accept this type of behaviour and condemns this and any other form of abuse in the strongest possible terms.”
The alleged abuse was directed at several Villa players during the match, while defender Leon Routh also responded to comments posted online after the match.
Routh responded on Instagram to comments using monkey emojis, noting that "there is no place for racism in football."
As is usual after matches, UEFA's disciplinary body will review the reports before deciding on any action. UEFA has not yet commented on the incident.
By Tuesday evening, the Albanian Football Federation said no details of racist or discriminatory behavior had been recorded in the match observer's report and that it had not been contacted by Villa or any other authority about the allegations.
Villa opened the scoring in the 37th minute through Rory Wilson, before the home team equalised three minutes later.
Villa will host the Albanian team at Bodymoor Heath on November 5 for the return leg.
