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Fifa will not take action over alleged racist chants against Rio and Anton Ferdinand

The incident occurred during England's game against San Marino

Pa
Wednesday 08 May 2013 13:02 BST
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Rio and Anton Ferdinand
Rio and Anton Ferdinand (GETTY IMAGES)

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FIFA has announced it will not take disciplinary action against the Football Association for alleged racist chants from England fans directed at the Ferdinand brothers during the match against San Marino in March.

However, The FA has been warned to take "preventative measures" after anti-discrimination body FARE reported the singing of an abusive song, which called for Rio and Anton Ferdinand to be burned on a bonfire, to FIFA following the World Cup qualifier.

FIFA today said there would be no action due to a lack of evidence.

A FIFA statement said: "We can confirm that in the case of alleged racist chanting during the recent World Cup qualifier San Marino vs England, it has been decided not to open disciplinary proceedings due to the lack of concluding evidence.

"The FA's attention was however drawn on the pertinent provisions of the FIFA regulations and they were requested to display prudence and adopt appropriate preventive measures in order to avoid that incidents of such nature do occur in the future."

Rio Ferdinand had incurred the anger of some England fans after pulling out of the international squad at short notice, but the fact that his brother Anton was also targeted raised concerns given that he was the victim of racist abuse by former England captain John Terry.

PA

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