UEFA to rule on Serbia issue

Full-back Danny Rose complained he had been the victim of 'monkey chanting' in Serbia
12 December 2012

The Football Association will finally learn their fate on Thursday when UEFA's control and disciplinary body meet to the discuss the trouble that erupted during England Under-21s clash with Serbia in October.

The hearing should have taken place on November 22, but was postponed "to allow for further investigations", according to UEFA, in light of the complex nature of the case.

Following the second leg of a 2013 European Championship play-off in Krusevac, which England won 1-0 for a 2-0 aggregate triumph to reach next year's finals in Israel, ugly scenes flared.

Connor Wickham's injury-time strike resulted in missiles being thrown on to the pitch that was invaded by a number of fans, whilst players and officials from both sides clashed before leaving the field.

There was also a backdrop of alleged racial abuse from the stands as England claimed some of their black players were victims. Full-back Danny Rose, dismissed after the final whistle for kicking the ball away in anger, complained he had been particularly targeted with "monkey chanting".

Just 90 minutes after the game had ended, the FA made their feelings plain, issuing a statement condemning the racism - reporting a number of incidents to UEFA - and the confrontations that occurred, claiming England's players "were under extreme provocation".

The Serbian FA countered the day after, denying there were any racist chants before and during the game, whilst claiming Rose behaved in an "inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar manner" towards their fans.

UEFA quickly charged the Serbian FA with racist chanting, whilst also issuing a further charge to them and the FA with failure to control their players. The Serbians at least later reacted strongly in one sense by issuing lengthy bans to two players and two officials for their part in the melee that occurred after the game.

UEFA will certainly be expected to impose stiff penalties against Serbia, rather than any kind of desultory fine as occurred in 2007. On that occasion the Serbian FA were fined £16,000 following a match between the two countries at the Under-21 European Championship in Holland when England defender Nedum Onuoha was racially abused.

The FA, meanwhile, have confirmed they are still awaiting to hear whether Under-21 players Steven Caulker and Tom Lees, along with coach Steve Wigley, are to be charged by Serbian police.

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