Serbian FA seek formal statements from all players and staff following racism accusations during England under-21 match

 

Jon Fisher
Thursday 18 October 2012 17:04 BST
Comments
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)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

All Serbia's players and staff involved in Tuesday night's hugely controversial UEFA under-21 play-off against England have been asked to make formal statements.

The match, which England won 1-0 thanks to a last-minute goal from Connor Wickham to complete a 2-0 aggregate triumph, was marred by unsavoury scenes at the final whistle with scuffling on the pitch amid accusations of racism from the stands towards England left-back Danny Rose.

The Serbian federation (FSS) has announced its disciplinary committee held an extraordinary session this morning at which the request was made.

UEFA last night announced charges against both the FSS and the English Football Association for the improper conduct of their players, and against the Serbs for "alleged racist chanting" by fans.

The FSS has now revealed an internal investigation is also under way.

A statement on its official website, http://www.fss.rs, read: "In Belgrade today, there was an extraordinary session of the disciplinary committee of the Football Association of Serbia.

"It was decided to officially request statements from all the players and members of the professional staff of the under-21 Serbia national team who took part in the second leg of the play-off on October 16 in Krusevac.

"The deadline for submission of these statements is three days.

"The disciplinary committee will decide which individuals will be subject to disciplinary proceedings."

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in