Arrests were made during Chelsea’s comprehensive FA Cup fourth round triumph over Hull City after discriminatory chanting was heard from sections of the home support at the MKM Stadium.
The incident marred what was otherwise a dominant 4-0 victory for the Blues in East Yorkshire.
Officials broadcast a warning message on the stadium’s big screen and via the public address system during the closing stages of the first half, alerting supporters that such behaviour would not be tolerated and reminding them that CCTV cameras were monitoring the crowd.
A subsequent announcement in the second period confirmed that police had made arrests.
Hull City made an announcement to stop offensive chanting inside the KC Stadium
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Hull City had issued a stark warning to their supporters prior to kick-off regarding acceptable conduct inside the ground.
The club made clear that “any chanting of a homophobic, racist or discriminatory nature is entirely unacceptable and will not be tolerated inside the MKM Stadium.”
Fans were informed that those caught engaging in such conduct would face severe repercussions.
The consequences outlined included immediate removal from the venue, the prospect of being banned from future matches, and possible criminal charges.
Despite these explicit warnings, offensive chanting was still heard emanating from parts of the home end during the first half.
Pedro Neto scored a hat-trick against Hull as Chelsea ran out easy winners
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On the pitch, Chelsea’s quality proved far too much for their Championship opponents as Pedro Neto delivered a superb treble.
The Portuguese winger opened the scoring in the 40th minute, curling a delightful left-footed effort from the edge of the area into the far corner following an intricate passing move.
His second arrived in peculiar fashion five minutes into the second half, when an inswinging corner somehow evaded every player and crept through goalkeeper Dillon Phillips’ legs before nestling in the net.
Neto completed his hat-trick with 19 minutes remaining, slotting coolly into the bottom corner to seal Chelsea’s passage into the fifth round.
Brazilian wonderkid Estevao, just 18 years of age, atoned for an earlier glaring miss when he fired home in the 59th minute.
Hull announced that fans were arrested tonight
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The teenager had earlier rounded Phillips only to blaze over an empty goal, but made no mistake with his second opportunity following excellent link-up play from Liam Delap.
Delap, who previously spent a loan spell with Hull under current Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior, registered three assists on the night.
The eight-time FA Cup winners now await their fifth round opponents, while they return to Premier League duty against Burnley on 21 February.
Hull face Queens Park Rangers in Championship action that same Saturday.