UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against both Serbia and England and a police probe was ordered from Belgrade on Wednesday after alleged racist chanting and brawls at an ill-tempered under-21 match.
The Serbian hosts were charged by UEFA with misconduct over the racial abuse its fans allegedly hurled at England players from before kickoff in Krusevac on Tuesday night.
However both federations face action for “improper conduct” over the scuffles that broke out on the pitch between the teams after the match, which England won 1-0 to secure qualification for the 2013 European Under-21 Championship.
In Belgrade, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic ordered a police probe.
The bitterness between the two nations was emphasized by their respective statements on Wednesday, with the English Football Association (FA) suggesting it might decline to send teams to the Balkan nation in the future and the Serbians emphatically denying racism and denouncing the visiting players.
However, the FA was backed by the British government which wrote to UEFA president Michel Platini on Wednesday demanding “tough sanctions.”
“A number of England players were subject to extreme provocation and racism,” Sports Minister Hugh Robertson wrote to Platini.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was also said by his Downing Street office to be “appalled by the scenes.”
“We are determined to stamp out racism overseas and at home and we are giving full backing to the FA’s complaint,” Cameron’s spokesman Steve Field said.
However, the Serbian FA denied in a statement that there was any racial abuse “before or during the match” of England players.
Serbia laid the blame for the incidents squarely on England defender Danny Rose, claiming he “behaved in inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar manner towards the supporters for which he was shown a red card.”
“Unfortunately, that led to the incident that followed,” the Serbian FA statement said.
The English FA responded with a statement insisting its players and staff “were subjected to racial abuse, violence as well as missiles” throughout the match.
“FA officials made UEFA officials aware of racist abuse from sections of the crowd aimed at a number of England’s black players at halftime on Tuesday evening,” FA General Secretary Alex Horne said. “This matter was discussed again during a meeting with UEFA after those disgraceful scenes which followed the final whistle.”
“No football team should be asked to play in any environment where racial abuse, violence and threatening behavior are prevalent. We must question the validity of sending a team to Serbia in the future,” he said.
Rose was sent off after kicking a ball into the stands after the final whistle following apparent provocation.
“The monkey chanting started long before I got sent off,” Rose told British broadcaster Sky Sports. “After 60 minutes my head wasn’t really on the game. They have to be banned. I don’t understand how else they can learn from it. They have to be banned.”
Rose said he complained to assistant coach Steve Wigley about problems when the team went out to warm-up before the game.
“They started the monkey chanting straight away. I asked the lads if they could hear it and they said they could hear it,” Rose said. “Halfway through the warm-up I went to ‘Wigs,’ the assistant manager, and told him what was happening. He said I had to try my best to get through it and they would deal with it straight away after the game.”
“In the first half I went down to get the ball for a throw-in and the fans started again with the monkey chants, but the first half was nowhere near as bad as the second half,” he said. “In the second half I had two stones hit me on the head when I went to get the ball for a throw-in. Every time I touched the ball there was monkey chanting again.”
However, Serbia captain Slobodan Medojevic accused the English players of triggering the incident at the end of the game.
“My teammates told me they were provoked by the gestures of the English players toward our fans at the stadium,” he said. “I don’t think it’s only our fault for the incidents, but also of the English players ... even if there were such chants, they could have been made by maximum five or six people.”
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and