LONDON, England -- Chelsea have denied allegations that a member of their staff taunted Barcelona player Samuel Eto'o with racist abuse following the English side's Champions League victory on Tuesday.

Cameroon striker Eto'o claimed that a ground steward had called him a "monkey" as he left the pitch after Barca's 4-2 second leg defeat in London, Reuters reported.

But Chelsea said in a statement: "Chelsea utterly refutes any racist comments were made by any of its permanent or matchday staff.

"Chelsea has an excellent record of supporting anti-racism campaigns and condemns all forms of racism."

Tuesday's dramatic match, which gave Chelsea a 5-4 win on aggregate, was marred by angry scenes at the end with Chelsea stewards hurrying Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard and his players off the pitch.

The Spanish side's fans also threw water bottles and other missiles onto the pitch, some aimed at Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

Reuters reported that Chelsea's scout Andre Villas allegedly started the flare-up by blowing kisses at Rijkaard, who had to be held back by several stewards.

TV pictures showed Rijkaard and Brazilian striker Ronaldinho grappling with stewards. At one stage Ronaldinho was heard shouting at them: "You're all racists."

Rijkaard said: "Some guy came forward and insulted our bench and I don't want to say what I think of him. I am always bitter when I lose and I am even more bitter because of all the lies they (Chelsea) told before this game."

Eto'o told reporters after the match that he had been racially abused by a steward as he left the pitch, according to Reuters.

"He called me a monkey," Eto'o said. "I understood it. He called me a monkey and I am very angry."

Eto'o said Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, who had stoked a war of words between the two clubs after his side's 2-1 first leg defeat in Spain, was to blame for the bad feeling.

"The mood surrounding the Chelsea bench was ugly, their coach's (Jose Mourinho's) expression was ugly," Eto'o said.

Barcelona defender Carles Puyol said: "The other players told me the security guards insulted Eto'o and called him a monkey. That's when the problems started."

European football governing body UEFA said it would investigate the incident if a formal complaint was made.

"If a formal complaint is made of course we will investigate it, but there will have to be some evidence of what happened," said UEFA director of communications William Gaillard.

"We will not let it rest if a complaint is made. If one individual has said something we would hope Chelsea will take action, but there must be some neutral witnesses also."