England Under-21s Tom Ince and Steven Caulker could face increased fines from incident in Serbia

Pair who were sanctioned due to a brawl at the end of an U-21 match between England and Serbia could face increased fines

Jamie Lewis
Thursday 14 February 2013 17:05 GMT
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Andros Townsend separates his team-mate Danny Rose and Sasa Markovic of Serbia
Andros Townsend separates his team-mate Danny Rose and Sasa Markovic of Serbia (Getty Images)

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England Under-21 internationals Tom Ince and Steven Caulker could face increased UEFA bans as a result of an appeal hearing tomorrow.

Ince was banned for one match and Caulker for two following incident that took place at the end of a controversial match in Serbia in October. The host nation was later fined for racist abuse and violent behaviour.

The Football Association launched an appeal on behalf of the players but UEFA launch a counter-appeal which could lead to bans for players from both nations to be increased.

The two England players plus four Serbian and two coaches were banned following the play-off match in Krusevac, which England won by a goal to nil.

The match ended in a brawl where racist chants from Serbian fans toward English players resounded in the stadium and UEFA ordered Serbia to play their next U21 game behind closed doors and slapped them with a £65,000 fine.

FA general secretary Alex Horne said after the bans were announced that he was surprised that English players had been sanctioned.

He said: "It is the FA's vehement belief that its players and staff acted correctly in the face of provocation, including racist abuse and missiles being thrown.

"We are therefore surprised to see that two of our players have been given suspensions."

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