Chris Wheeler
Maguire calls meeting after Sofia sickener
HARRY MAGUIRE and Marcus Rashford have spoken to their Manchester United team-mates about how to respond to any racist abuse from Partizan Belgrade fans tonight after both players were caught up in sickening scenes on England duty in Bulgaria.
The United players are ready to follow UEFA’s three-step protocol and walk off the pitch in Serbia if there is a repeat of the abuse faced by Turkish club Malatyaspor here in August. UEFA punished Partizan by forcing them to play their games against Molde and AZ Alkmaar behind closed doors but the fans will be back tonight.
Ahead of the Group L Europa League match, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: ‘In the aftermath of what happened in Bulgaria, we had a meeting with the boys and we’ve gone through the protocol.
‘We’ve spoken in general but, of course, Harry and M arcus who were in Bulgaria, they were freer to talk about the atmosphere, how it was, what we can expect and what’s the worst case scenario.
‘But I believe in the good in people and I’m sure the atmosphere will be fantastic. We’ll try and keep them quiet by playing good football. We trust UEFA and hopefully it’s a celebration of good football.’
The 30,000- capacity stadium is sold out for United’s first appearance in Serbia since 1966, and second since the Munich Air Disaster as they returned home from a European Cup quarter- final against Red Star Belgrade eight years earlier.
The Football Against Racism in Europe network, who operate with UEFA to report incidents of discrimination, are on high alert for the game. Under UEFA’s protocol, the first step when racist behaviour is detected is to stop play and call on supporters to cease. If they do not, the game is stopped again, with players temporarily sent to their dressing rooms. If that still doesn’t work, the match should be abandoned.
Maguire said: ‘We will trust UEFA to follow their protocol. Obviously Sofia was a sickening atmosphere, and it is something I don’t want to be part of again.’
Partizan have appealed to their fans to behave. An additional problem for the Serbian club is that three separate factions of their supporters — The Gravediggers, The Forbidden and The South Stand — have been fighting among themselves for some time.
Partizan boss, former Aston Villa striker Savo Milosevic, said: ‘We are aware of the problems we have had in the past. But tomorrow will be a celebration of football, so I don’t expect any problems.’
United have had problems of their own after handing an indefinite ban to a supporter who was thrown out of Old Trafford for racially abusing Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold on Sunday. Solskjaer said: ‘I’m happy the club have identified him. It’s something we feel strongly about and are going to stamp down on as much as we can.’
The United boss has ruled Paul Pogba out of Sunday’s trip to Norwich as he recovers from an ankle injury, but said that Luke Shaw and Nemanja Matic will be assessed when they return from warm-weather rehab in Dubai at the end of the week. MAN UTD (4-2-3-1): Romero; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Rojo, Williams; Fred, McTominay; Mata, Lingard, Greenwood; Rashford.