Birmingham goalkeeper Neil Etheridge has complained he was racially abused by spectators after his side forced their FA Cup tie with Blackburn into a replay.
The alleged incident was reported as the Blues celebrated their stoppage-time equalizer from Jordan James.
Reda Khadra gave the Blues an early lead, with Bradley Dack then equalizing before Joe Rankin-Costello put Rovers 2-1 up.
Substitute James sent the tie to a replay but his goal was overshadowed by the ugly incident.
Scenes of anger quickly replaced those of jubilation when 18-year-old James scored, with Etheridge going to referee Keith Stroud at the halfway line to complain about the comments directed at him.
Blues boss John Eustace said the club were dealing with the complaint and said they would ‘make sure Neil is okay’.
“Neil was racially abused at the end, which is irrelevant,” Eustace told BBC Radio WM. “There is no place at all in society, let alone in football, for that.”
A statement from Birmingham after the match said they would assist the Football Association and the authorities after the incident was included in the official report.
Blackburn said they would also investigate, adding the allegation had been “taken extremely seriously”.
“The club has a zero tolerance policy for all forms of abuse and discrimination, and will take the strongest possible action against anyone found to have committed such offences,” a Rovers statement said.
The alleged incident and ensuing flare-up on the pitch marred a hugely entertaining tie between the two Championship sides who now head to St Andrew’s to be settled.
The Blues, whose only victory in seven games was now against Forest Green in the third round, capitalized on a poor pass from Blackburn in defense to take an early lead.
Khadra’s slipping shot in the third minute proved too difficult for Thomas Kaminski to hold off.
The Germany Under-21 international – who is on loan from Brighton, having spent last season at Rovers – went nearly a second short after, but his shot squirmed under Kaminski only to bounce back at the beyond the second post.
Ben Brereton Diaz tested Etheridge twice on either side of that Khadra near miss in a first half that produced plenty of chances for both sides.
As Etheridge managed to push a Rankin-Costello shot to the woodwork, Dack was there to tap as the rebound bounced his way.
Kaminski ensured the hosts stayed level at the break, denying a diving header from Lukas Jutkiewicz in the final minute of the first half, but Rovers took the lead immediately after the break.
Just as they squandered possession in defense to concede the opening goal, the Blues did the same after the restart to allow Rankin-Costello to find the bottom corner with the outside of his boot.
Jutkiewicz headed in and Khadra again called Kaminski into action as the Blues looked for a leveler, while Brereton Diaz sent a big chance and Dack also failed to capitalize on a promising opportunity.
The home side were forced to regret those misses when James met a pass from Hannibal Mejbri to cool home from 12 yards.
