Aston Villa to report alleged racist abuse of Under-19s to UEFA

Aston Villa say they will report Albanian club KF Skenderbeu to UEFA after alleged racist abuse of their Under-19 players and staff during their Tuesday evening UEFA Youth League match.

The match was hosted in Korce, Albania, as the first leg of the round-two tie and finished 1-1.

“Aston Villa can confirm it will be reporting KF Skënderbeu to UEFA, following racist abuse suffered by our players and staff from a section of the Albanian club’s supporters during yesterday’s Youth League tie,” a statement on Wednesday read. “The club does not accept this type of behaviour and condemns this and all other forms of abuse in the strongest possible terms.”

The alleged abuse was reported to have been directed at a number of Villa’s players on the pitch from fans watching, though defender Leon Routh also responded to a number of comments that had been left online after the game finished.

Routh posted a response on his Instagram to comments on the club’s social media that used monkey emojis, saying there was “no room for it (racism) in the game”.

As is the usual process following matches, UEFA’s disciplinary body will assess reports before deciding on any action to take. When approached on Tuesday, UEFA did not have a comment.

As of Tuesday evening, the Albanian Football Association claimed no details of racist or discriminatory behaviour had been detailed in the match delegate’s report and said it had not been contacted by Villa or any other authority regarding claims of abuse.

KF Skenderbeu have been approached by The Athletic for comment.

Villa opened the scoring with a 37th-minute strike from Rory Wilson, before the home side equalised three minutes later.

Villa will host the Albanian side at Bodymoor Heath on November 5 in the return fixture and if they win, the side will play either AZ Alkmaar or Lincoln Red Imps in the next round.