SHAME OF SERBIA
Black players taunted with racist chants And coach butted in mass brawl...
RACISM and violence marred a recordbreaking night for England’s Under 21s as Stuart Pearce branded Serbia’s actions ‘a disgrace’.
A number of England’s black players, including Danny Rose, were subjected to racist chants as the visitors won 1-0 with a late Connor Wickham goal to secure a 2-0 aggregate win and a trip to Israel next summer. It will be their fourth straight European Championship finals appearance, the first time any nation has achieved that.
Rose, sent off after the final whistle for a second bookable offence, made gestures to Serbia fans after being racially abused and pelted with stones. He was inconsolable afterwards.
There were horrendous scenes at the end, as a mass brawl erupted between players and coaches. England goalkeeping coach Martin Thomas was butted and assistant head coach Steve Wigley was kicked in the stomach. England goalkeeper Jack Butland also had a seat thrown at him.
The FA will demand UEFA take action and head coach Pearce was appalled. He said: ‘It was quite disgraceful. The scenes at the end were very sad. I’m very proud of the way my players behaved. It got very volatile very quickly. But you could see the collectiveness among the staff and the players in the way we all looked out for each other.’
An FA statement said: ‘The FA condemns both the scenes of racism and the confrontation at the final whistle during which time our players and staff were under extreme provocation. The FA has reported a number of incidents of racism to UEFA. These were seemingly aimed at a number of England’s black players by the crowd.’
If UEFA had anything about them, they would ban Serbia from the next Under 21 European Championship and impose stringent sanctions available on their senior team, such as making them play every home game for the next four years behind closed doors.
This is not a knee-jerk reaction. Serbia are repeat offenders. In 2007, when England and Serbia met at this level at the finals in Holland, Nedum Onuoha was subjected to racial abuse. Serbia players also brawled with England at the final whistle, charging at England’s bench when Matt Derbyshire had made it 2-0.
What was the punishment? A pathetic £16,000 fine. That sends out a message that these thugs can continue regardless. And they do.
Walking outside the stadium before kick-off last night, this did not have the feel of a normal Under 21 game. Groups of men prowled, casting suspicious, threatening glances at those who were clearly not locals.
Inside, fireworks were frequently set off after the game began and at one point, the stadium announcer made a plea to the Serbian crowd ‘not to throw any more pyrotechnics’. Still they continued. Bangs here, little explosions there, they threw a seat, lighters and coins at Butland and similar at Rose.
Worse would follow in the form of racist chants. Marvin Sordell appeared to be subjected to them when he went down for treatment towards the end of the first half and spoke with referee Huseyin Gocek as he left the field at the break.
The FA reported unspecified incidents of racism to UEFA at that point. None, it should be noted, came from any of the Serbia players, just some of the morons in the seats near to the touchline. Sadly it got worse. ‘There was a lot of racist abuse from the stands and a lot going on after the game, which is hard to take,’ said England captain Jordan Henderson. ‘It’s not nice but we kept our heads. I don’t understand why Danny was sent off — I didn’t see he did anything wrong, other than get abused.’
Wickham secured England’s passage, tapping in to give England a 2-0 lead on aggregate. Serbia’s goalkeeper Branimir Aleksic was up the other end of the field as his side chased the goal that would have levelled the tie and Tom Ince broke to set up Wickham.
Unable to take any more abuse, Rose celebrated in front of Serbia’s fans at the final whistle. At that point, all hell broke loose. Thomas and Wigley were attacked and punches were thrown in England’s direction.
‘There were one or two other incidents which were quite sad that came from the technical staff, not just the players,’ said Pearce. ‘The authorities will deal with that in the proper manner hopefully. The one thing I can do is that I can be very, very proud of the demeanour of our players. Under a lot of provocation, we held our dignity.’
After defending stoically on the field, it would have been easy for England to start swinging back when red shirts came charging at them. That they stood firm was to their credit. Amazingly Serbia Under 21 coach Aleksander Jankovic refused to accept his squad’s role in the brawl. He said: ‘For a fight it takes two sides. It is a big question to say it was provoked from our bench. We will analyse it tomorrow. A riot on the pitch? It looked like a good game to me.’
Yet Pearce had praise for his opposite number. ‘I must commend (former Aston Villa striker and now Serbia technical director) Savo Milosevic, who came to our dressing room and apologised for their behaviour,’ said Pearce. ‘Their manager also conducted himself in a right and proper manner.’
Regrettably, too few did not. To see Rose march from the pitch at the end and make gestures back to those who taunted him, out of sheer heartbreak and rage, was one of the saddest incidents this observer has ever witnessed.
Yet, until UEFA act, these events will continue. Rather than talk about re-jigging tournaments and wondering how much more money they can make, let’s see Europe’s governing body make a stand.
Do you think they will? Draw your own conclusions.
d.king@dailymail.co.uk
HOW much longer do we have to put up with the sickening racism that accompanies so many of England’s games against eastern European opposition? Last night’s shameful scenes in Serbia were depressingly familiar — vile chants and racism from the fans and disgraceful provocation and punch-ups on the pitch. The last time this happened to England’s Under 21s five years ago, Serbia were fined a pitiful £16,000 by a spineless UEFA. What a pathetic deterrent that turned out to be. This time, though, there has to be a punishment to fit the crime. And that must mean expulsion from international football for Serbia. Nothing else will do if this night of shame is not to be repeated yet again.