Chelsea face FA probe over ‘friendly’ punch-up

London: Chelsea are facing a probe by the Football Association (FA) after a training ground friendly turned into a mass brawl.

The practice game, arranged at short notice by Chelsea on Wednesday, was abandoned after just 35 minutes amid amazing scenes. Players, coaches and officials from Chelsea’s reserve team and United Arab Emirates side Al Alhi traded blows for five minutes. Chelsea players were assaulted with karate kicks, knee-high tackles and had their hair pulled out and their eyes gouged. The referee, who will not be named by the FA, has written to Soho Square with the full, astonishing details of the battle. Incredibly the drama was played out in front of scores of children who were taking part in a football in the community scheme at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground. The scenes, which were recorded by the club’s in-house TV station ChelseaTV and are now locked in a safe, were so brutal that some kids fled in tears. The FA confirmed last night that the incident had taken place, while a Chelsea spokesman said: “There was an unfortunate incident.” ANI