WE’LL WALK OFF
FA give England stars green light to make ultimate protest
ENGLAND players will have the full backing of the Football Association if they walk off the pitch in the face of a repeat of the racist abuse they endured in Budapest on Thursday night.
FIFA confirmed yesterday they will launch an investigation into the sickening scenes that saw England’s black footballers targeted with monkey chants by home supporters during the 4-0 World Cup qualifying Group I win against Hungary. And Sportsmail can disclose:
■ FA chiefs would have fully supported the players walking off — and will do so in future should such scenes occur again. Any resulting sanctions would be taken on the chin;
■ Anti-racism organisation FARE have evidence of the alleged racial abuse from ‘spotters’ in the crowd;
■ Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s condemnation of the abuse yesterday has been met with a sense of bewilderment
from inside the England camp given the Government’s initial failure to back the team’s stance of taking the knee during the Euros; n There is a growing feeling within the FA that sanctions for discriminatory behaviour should apply to both FIFA and UEFA competitions given Hungary already have an outstanding stadium ban to serve from the Euros.
Officials can halt proceedings and take both teams off the field if players are subjected to sustained racial abuse during a match.
When England players were abused in Bulgaria in 2019, UEFA’s three-step protocol was implemented in an attempt to stop the taunts directed at Gareth Southgate’s players — but in the end neither team left the pitch.
Sportsmail understands FA chiefs were fully prepared for the scenario of England’s players walking off in Hungary.
Doing so without permission of the referee could have resulted in hefty sanctions for the FA. But it was a situation they were prepared to deal with if England’s players felt they needed to make a stand.
The FA’s position is greatly encouraging, particularly ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Poland, where there are concerns English players could be met with similar abuse.
Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were targeted with monkey chants in Budapest and England’s starting XI were booed for taking the knee before kick-off.
There was a sense emanating from the England dressing room yesterday that a number of players did not hear the abuse during the game. Southgate (below) kept his players in the dressing room for longer than usual to ascertain who had heard the abuse.
FIFA are now set to launch a thorough investigation. Numerous broadcasters and photographers who were pitchside witnessed the taunts.
In addition to the racist element, fans threw missiles — including coins — on to the pitch.
The disgraceful scenes were roundly condemned yesterday with the PFA and the anti-discrimination campaign Kick It Out both releasing statements.
PM Johnson wrote on Twitter: ‘It is completely unacceptable that
England players were racially abused in Hungary last night. ‘I urge FIFA to take strong action against those responsible to ensure that this kind of disgraceful behaviour is eradicated from the game for good.’ But a number of England players believe Johnson’s comments are hypocritical given his Government’s stance on the team’s decision to take the knee during Euro 2020. The FA are angry that England’s players were forced to endure racist abuse at a stadium that is subject to a crowd ban — as UEFA and FIFA blamed one another. The FA will demand to know why fans were able to attend the World Cup qualifier given the Hungarian FA were handed a stadium ban as a result of discriminatory behaviour by supporters at the European Championship.
The sanction will not be enforced until Hungary play in a UEFA competition again next year.
Both governing bodies were privately passing the buck. UEFA insisted it was not in their jurisdiction to apply a ban during a FIFA competition. In contrast FIFA, believe UEFA did have the power to close the stadium to fans.
There is a feeling that there should be greater alignment on such issues, particularly one as important as racial abuse, from both organisations. The issue is likely to be discussed by the FA in the coming weeks.