Conor Gallagher was accused of racism by some social media accounts after footage emerged of him blanking a club mascot who wanted to give him a high-five.
Addressing those accusations, Mauricio Pochettino argued that the video clip was taken out of context and used by people seeking to sow discord in the squad.
"That has upset me so much because no one wants to do something like this with this intention," the Chelsea head coach said.
"He does so well taking many videos, photography and pictures. He did really well with both mascots and when you are there playing football, focusing on many things, to play and start a game, sometimes that can happen.
"But people try to find things like this to create a mess and to abuse. I know Conor and the people here at Chelsea; come on, he never has that intention.
"Conor is a great, great kid who always cares about everything. I hate when people feel free to abuse and do things like this. Today to abuse people is so easy. It is important to pay attention when these types of things happen and not give too much attention to the people who want to create this type of mess, insult and abuse people.
"Please stop: who thinks Conor intends to ignore a mascot? Come on! It makes me very sad, and I know Conor, and he doesn’t deserve to be abused; no one deserves it, but come on, not him.
"Many things happen in England and around the world, so the responsibility is to ignore the people who try to make these types of things happen. For me, it is about supporting Conor and others who get abused."
As a club, Chelsea also supported Gallagher, releasing a statement that criticised 'abuse and defamatory comments' towards the midfielder on social media.
The footage may indeed have been taken out of context, as Gallagher was later pictured hugging the mascot in the tunnel, suggesting that he had blanked him on accident.
Latest news
