Roma charged with racist behaviour after monkey chants at Chelsea

AS Roma is in trouble after monkey chants echoed around Stamford Bridge.

On Friday, disciplinary proceedings were opened following the game between Chelsea and Roma in the Champions League group stage, as the Giallorossi were charged with racist behaviour involving monkey chants.

According the Press Association, the monkey chants were directed at Antonio Rudiger, who played 13 minutes and previously represented Roma for two seasons. UEFA was reportedly made aware of the alleged chants on social media, and while Chelsea didn’t report them, the Blues are willing to assist if required. The case will be dealt with by the UEFA Control, Ethics, and Disciplinary Body on Nov. 16.

In March, Rudiger, still with Roma, was racially abused by SS Lazio’s supporters in the first leg of a tie between the two clubs in the Coppa Italia semi-finals. The German centre-back subsequently demanded a response from FIFA and told Sport Bild: “I take this very seriously because I cannot and must not ignore something like this. I am part of this too. Racism is a serious issue here.

“Incidents like the ones with (Medhi) Benatia and me simply happen too often in this country and this is why something must happen now. When the Italian FA is not doing anything then FIFA must act. It is easy to come up with the ‘No to Racism’ campaign but when you don’t do anything concrete then that does not help.”

Chelsea and Roma played out a 3-3 draw on Wednesday as Eden Hazard and Edin Dzeko each scored two goals.