Cardiff City charged by FA over alleged homophobic chanting during Chelsea Carabao Cup match

Cardiff City has been charged by the Football Association after alleged homophobic chanting by supporters during its Carabao Cup quarter-final against Chelsea in December.

The FA confirmed the Sky Bet League One side faces disciplinary action linked to crowd behaviour during the 3-1 defeat at Cardiff City Stadium on 16 December.

Chelsea progressed from the tie thanks to a brace from Alejandro Garnacho, with the governing body alleging that offensive language referencing sexual orientation was heard around the second minute of the match. 

“The club is committed to inclusivity and the protection of all supporters attending our fixtures” – Cardiff City in a statement

According to the charge, the club is accused of failing to prevent spectators from using “improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting” language, including comments connected to sexual orientation. Cardiff have been given until 24 February to respond to the allegation. 

In a statement released after the charge was announced, Cardiff said: “As an inclusive club that positions itself at the heart of our community, we strongly condemn the language of identified individuals and fully support South Wales Police’s commitment to holding persons responsible.” 

The club added that staff recognised the issue quickly during the fixture and contacted authorities, stating that “internal communication led to police being deployed immediately to the section during the match.” 

Cardiff also said: “The club is committed to inclusivity and the protection of all supporters attending our fixtures,” adding that “robust and coherent measures were put in place before, during and after this fixture and this has been highlighted in our response to the Football Association.” 

South Wales Police were deployed to Cardiff City Stadium

The statement concluded: “No form of discrimination is tolerated at our club, nor should it ever be in society. Supporters are reminded that such behaviour is criminal and is treated as this whenever identified.” 

South Wales Police were deployed to the relevant area of the stadium during the match as officials attempted to identify those responsible. 

The FA charge relates specifically to rules covering discriminatory crowd conduct, which hold clubs accountable for the behaviour of supporters inside grounds. 

Chelsea went on to reach the semi-finals after the win over Cardiff but were eliminated from the competition by Arsenal earlier this month.