September 03, (THEWILL) – Racism raised its ugly heads again on Thursday during the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers between Hungary and England.
The England players suffered abuse from a section of the fans, prompting the English captain, Harry Kane’s, call on football’s governing bodies to take action against a section of Hungary fans who reportedly directed abuse at Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham.
The Group I matchday four fixture at the Puskas Arena, which England comfortably won 4-0, was played in a hostile atmosphere from the outset as England players were booed for taking a knee before kickoff.
The Three Lions had the perfect response with goals from Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, Tottenham Hotspur’s Kane, Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and West Ham’s Declan Rice to maintain their 100 percent record in the qualifiers.
There were reports of monkey chants aimed at Sterling and Bellingham, and an on-camera incident where a fan in the crowd made what looked to be a monkey gesture at Sterling.
Although Kane admitted he did not hear any racist abuse, he called for tough measures if his teammates affirm that racist chants were made at them
In post-match comments, Kane said: “I didn’t hear that. I will speak to the boys and see if they heard any of it.
“We will have to report it to UEFA, as the rules commit, and if it was the case hopefully UEFA can come down strong.”
Back in England, the Football Association (FA) released a statement condemning any alleged abuse and called on FIFA to look into the chants from the stands. The statement said in part: “It is extremely disappointing to hear reports of discriminatory actions towards some of our England players.
“We will be asking FIFA to investigate the matter. We continue to support the players and staff in our collective determination to highlight and tackle discrimination in all its forms.”
Labelling the home fans’ attitude as “unacceptable”, England manager Gareth Southgate said, “I have heard reports of racism and we were not aware of that during the game. I am not sure we were particularly sensible celebrating right in front of their fans with the flare but the racism is the key part.
“We try to take a right stand, we knew taking the knee would get an adverse reaction and anything of that nature is unacceptable.”
Hungarian fans are fast gaining notoriety for racist abuse. During Euro 2020, Hungarian fans publicly displayed homophobic banners and hurled abuse at players, causing UEFA to order their national team to play their next three UEFA matches behind closed doors.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
