Hungary v England: Fifa investigates racist abuse aimed at England players
Fifa is investigating the racist abuse aimed at Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham during Thursday’s match against Hungary.
England won 4-0 in the World Cup qualifier in Budapest, and the first to score was Raheem Sterling, who then had to face “monkey chants” and being pelted with cups by the Hungary fans.
Jude Bellingham was targeted with “monkey chants” whilst warming up on the sideline.
England has condemned the abuse as “completely unacceptable.”
PM Boris Johnson has urged Fifa “to take strong action against those responsible to ensure that this kind of disgraceful behaviour is eradicated from the game for good.”
On Friday, the PM tweeted: “It is completely unacceptable that England players were racially abused in Hungary last night.”
Fifa has said it “will take adequate actions” once it receives reports from match officials and delegates who were at the game.
Uefa had ordered Hungary to play three home games behind closed doors after fans’ discriminatory behaviour. But Thursday’s match came under Fifa’s jurisdiction and so fans were allowed in.
The Uefa ban relates to racism and other discriminatory conduct which took place during Euro 2020 in June.
While Uefa manages World Cup qualifiers involving European teams, Fifa is able to take action because it is their competition.
“Fifa strongly rejects any form of racism and violence and has a very clear zero-tolerance stance for such behaviour in football,” the game’s global governing body said.
The game saw food and drinks being thrown at the England players, racist language and gestures as well as a flare being thrown onto the pitch.
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