Skip to main content

UEFA charge England and Serbia

October 17, 2012 -- Updated 2151 GMT (0551 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • UEFA charges both English and Serbian Football Associations after events in Krusevac
  • English FA launch racism complaint against Serbia following under-21 match
  • England's Danny Rose claims he was racially abused throughout Tuesday's tie
  • FA statement: "The FA condemns both the scenes of racism and the confrontation"

(CNN) -- UEFA has confirmed that it has charged both the Football Association and the FA of Serbia following the unsavoury scenes during the under-21 match in Krusevac on Tuesday.

The Serbian governing body has been charged with alleged racist chanting by its supporters, while both parties have been hit with charges relating to the behaviour of their players at the final whistle.

UEFA said in a statement: "UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against both the Football Association of Serbia (FSS) and England's Football Association (FA) following a number of incidents during and after England's 1-0 win over Serbia in the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-off second leg at the Mladost stadium in Krusevac on Tuesday 16 October 2012.

"Regarding alleged racist chanting, UEFA will instigate proceedings against the FSS over the misconduct of their supporters during and at the end of the match. Proceedings will also be instigated against the FSS for the improper conduct of the Serbia players at the end of the match.

"UEFA will also commence proceedings against the FA for the improper conduct of the England players at the end of the match. "These cases will be discussed on the occasion of the next ordinary hearing of the UEFA Control & Disciplinary Body on 22 November 2012."

Earlier on Wednesday, the English FA had complained to European football's governing body UEFA following alleged racist abuse of one of its players during an under-21 fixture in Serbia.

Danny Rose, a midfielder on loan at English Premier League side Sunderland from Tottenham Hotspur, claims he was subjected to monkey chants before, during and after the second-leg of an Under-21 Euro 2013 playoff match on Tuesday, and had stones thrown at him by the crowd.

Rose was given a red card for kicking a ball into the stands after England scored a winning goal with the last kick of the match, sparking a mass brawl between both sets of players and staff.

Crime and punishment in sport: Laying down the law?

"The FA condemns both the scenes of racism and the confrontation at the final whistle during which time our players and staff were under extreme provocation," read a statement from the English game's governing body.

Football racism: Not Black & White act 1
Football racism: Not Black & White act 2
Football racism: Not Black & White act 3

"The FA has reported a number of incidents of racism to UEFA following the fixture. These were seemingly aimed at a number of England's black players by the crowd. The matter is now with UEFA."

But in a statement on its website, the Serbian FA said it "absolutely refuses and denies that there were any occurrences of racism before and during the match at the stadium in Krusevac".

"Making connection between the seen incident - a fight between members of the two teams - and racism has absolutely no ground and we consider it to be a total malevolence.

"Unfortunately, after the fourth minute of the additional time and the victory goal scored by the guest team, unpleasant scenes were seen on the pitch.

"And while most of the English team players celebrated the score, their player number three, Danny Rose, behaved in inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar manner towards the supporters on the stands at the stadium in Krusevac, and for that he was shown a red card."

During an U-21 match between the two countries in 2007, Serbia was fined £16,000 ($26,000) by UEFA for racial abuse directed at England defender Nedum Onouha.

In February 2011, UEFA president Michel Platini warned Serbia and its clubs that a ban on competing could be imposed if fans continued to cause trouble.

Platini is now under pressure to act on the alleged abuse, though UEFA has yet to issue a statement on the matter, while the organisation's account of the match on its website carried no mention of the widely reported racism.

Former England captain Rio Ferdinand used his official Twitter account to say: "Let's see if UEFA are serious or will they just treat this U21 incident as a minor....as they have before with their laughable punishments."

England captain Steven Gerrard also voiced his frustration at the lack of action being taken to eradicate racism from the game.

"The disappointing thing with what happened last night is it means you are back to square one," he said following England's 1-1 draw with Poland in Warsaw.

"We seemed to be making great strides forward to get it (racism) out of our game.

"With a situation like last night, it brings it back to square one.

"It is very disappointing but a lot of people above me need to take control of the situation.

"The authorities have to get tough. It is the only solution. No-one else can do anything about it.

"They are the people in control, who can give out massive huge fines and ban people.

"Why wait? Do it now."

The punishments and fines UEFA has historically handed out for racism offences have been criticized by many observers.

UEFA to take action against Lazio

The Spanish and Russian football associations were fined €20,000 ($26,000) and €30,000 ($39,000) respectively for racism offences committed by fans at the recent Euro 2012 tournament held in Poland and Ukraine.

That contrasts with the $125,800 "ambush marketing" fine UEFA handed to Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner for displaying underwear which sported the name of a bookmaker during a goal celebration.

Football racism: Not Black & White act 4
Football racism: Not Black & White act 5
Football racism: Not Black & White act 6

Next week UEFA, together with the organization Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), is hosting a campaign to transmit "a clear and firm message that discrimination has no place in football", which will conveyed at Champions League and Europa League matches between Tuesday and Thursday.

"I think we should remind ourselves this is not the first time Serbia have faced such allegations," FARE executive director Piara Powar told CNN. "In fact, it is not the first time Serbia will have an investigation opened about their behavior at a home or an away game by UEFA."

Powar argued the problem in Serbia could be due to a lack of the ethnic diversity seen in other European countries.

"There is not the wider diversity which you see in a place like London, Berlin or Paris," continued FARE's exeuctive director. "I think people react to that lack of diversity during a football match.

"These are attitudes fans are carrying in their everyday lives and at a football match they somehow think it is acceptable to make those views public. I think UEFA will take a very hard line.

"It's easy to look at some of the punishments UEFA have issued to Eastern European clubs in recent seasons, but when it comes to Serbia and the context of this Platini warning, I think Serbia faces a very serious situation."

Read more: Downpour drenches Poland's Euro pride

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
CNN Football Club
Be part of CNN's coverage of European Champions League matches and join the social debate.
April 24, 2013 -- Updated 1434 GMT (2234 HKT)
Luis Suarez's biting of Branislav Ivanovic is the latest episode of moments of madness when soccer stars behave badly.
March 29, 2013 -- Updated 0938 GMT (1738 HKT)
Former South African president and Nobel peace prize laureate Nelson Mandela joins guests at his home in Cape Town, on August 20, 2008 to celebrate his 90th birthday year, at an event organised by the Mandela Rhodes Foundation (RODGER BOSCH
Sunderland's partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation is part of its bid to woo the African market.
March 28, 2013 -- Updated 1558 GMT (2358 HKT)
South African children play football in a township in Bloemfontein on June 21, 2010. South Africa will face France in their final Group A, 2010 World Cup, first round football match on June 22.
Each year as many as 700 Cameroonian young footballers leave Africa in search of a professional career abroad.
May 6, 2013 -- Updated 1201 GMT (2001 HKT)
Referees across Europe are feeling the heat. Insulted, threatened, chased off the field, attacked, hospitalized and, tragically, killed.
March 6, 2013 -- Updated 1345 GMT (2145 HKT)
A red card for Manchester United's Nani during Tuesday's loss to Real Madrid sparks huge social media reaction.
February 26, 2013 -- Updated 1225 GMT (2025 HKT)
A real human brain being displayed as part of new exhibition at the @Bristol attraction is seen on March 8, 2011 in Bristol, England. The Real Brain exhibit - which comes with full consent from a anonymous donor and needed full consent from the Human Tissue Authority - is suspended in large tank engraved with a full scale skeleton on one side and a diagram of the central nervous system on the other and is a key feature of the All About Us exhibition opening this week.
Footballers have a battery of physios, fitness trainers and doctors all striving to fine-tune their physique -- but are they missing a trick?
February 26, 2013 -- Updated 1424 GMT (2224 HKT)
No Englishman has won the EPL title in over 20 years, while a leading manager reveals that English coaches are now "not respected abroad."
May 13, 2013 -- Updated 0933 GMT (1733 HKT)
Football supporters demonstrate in front of Italian TV RAI after the match between A.C.Milan and Lazio Roma was cancelled 11 November 2007. The spectre of football violence resurged in Italy on Sunday as the shooting dead of a fan sparked nationwide disturbances which forced the suspension of several Serie A matches. Banner reads 'Racism can stop League but death of tifosi has no signification.
Hardcore Italian football "ultra" Federico is a Lazio supporter who happily admits directing monkey chants at black players.
March 5, 2013 -- Updated 1123 GMT (1923 HKT)
When Jupp Heynckes made his Bundesliga debut as a player in 1965, the name of Bayern Munich was a new one for the nascent German league.
February 19, 2013 -- Updated 1902 GMT (0302 HKT)
Football's world governing body FIFA has confirmed it will use goal-line technology at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
February 19, 2013 -- Updated 1403 GMT (2203 HKT)
Match-fixing has become a worldwide issue, with hundreds of matches under investigation -- but how do you actually fix a football game?
February 18, 2013 -- Updated 1700 GMT (0100 HKT)
U.S soccer star Robbie Rogers has "come out" as gay on the day he retired from the game, making the announcement on his blog.
February 11, 2013 -- Updated 2231 GMT (0631 HKT)
The wealth of owners like Chelsea's Roman Abramovich often fuels success, but for other clubs such backers prove a mixed blessing.
January 31, 2013 -- Updated 1740 GMT (0140 HKT)
Brand Beckham is moving from the "City of Angels" to the "City of Light" as the football icon signs a short-term deal and offers to give away his pay.
January 31, 2013 -- Updated 1247 GMT (2047 HKT)
Fireworks inside his own house, a car crash in his first week at Manchester City, that iconic t-shirt -- the EPL will miss Mario Balotelli.
January 30, 2013 -- Updated 1342 GMT (2142 HKT)
The Secret Footballer reveals the complex issues surrounding racism in the English Premier League.
January 30, 2013 -- Updated 1543 GMT (2343 HKT)
The death of 73 football fans in Port Said tragedy continues to haunt Egypt.
ADVERTISEMENT