Trent Alexander-Arnold issues England walk off warning: 'If one player is abused, we all are'

The Liverpool star has warned the England won't hesitate to walk off regardless of the repercussions.
PA
James Olley9 October 2019

Trent Alexander-Arnold insists it will only take one player to feel uncomfortable for England to walk off the field if subjected to racist abuse in the Euro 2020 qualifiers in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.

England manager Gareth Southgate and captain Harry Kane led a squad meeting at St George’s Park on Monday, during which the players discussed their response should they suffer a similar incident to the sickening chants which led UEFA to hand Montenegro a one-match ban following March’s match in Podgorica.

Danny Rose, Raheem Sterling and Callum Hudson-Odoi were among the players abused that night and although Friday’s match in the Czech Republic is considered low risk, Monday’s trip to Bulgaria is a concern, given 5,000 seats have already been closed off in Sofia by UEFA as punishment for racist chanting during their matches against Kosovo and the Czech Republic in June.

The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) were fined £34,000 in 2011 after Ashley Young was subjected to monkey chants during England’s 3-0 win at the Vasil Levski Stadium.

In Pictures | England train ahead of Euro 2020 ties | 07/10/19

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UEFA’s three-step protocol dictates that players receiving abuse inform the match officials, who ask for an announcement to be made over the public address system calling on supporters to stop. If that does not resolve the issue, the referee can suspend the match for a period of time. As a last resort, the match could be abandoned.

However, if players are abused and the officials fail to act, England have said they will walk off the match and risk forfeiting the points — a move Chelsea duo Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori and Alexander-Arnold have backed.

“We’re a team, not individuals,” said Alexander-Arnold. “If one ­person is abused, we all are. We’re one big ­family. If ­someone doesn’t feel comfortable ­playing, none of us should. It’s not good to keep talking about it. We want to go in a positive environment, with our fans travelling, having a good time and seeing us pick up six points.

“It’s a team decision, a decision all of us need to make. It doesn’t matter whether it’s one player or the whole team. If the team doesn’t feel comfortable playing, I’m sure we have the backing and support of everyone around us. Nobody should be made to feel uncomfortable. Everyone should be given the chance to play in a fair environment.”

Discussing what the threshold should be for action to be taken, Alexander-Arnold added: “It depends on what level it is. We’ll report it to the captain and officials will decide whether teams need to come off or not. If that does happen, both teams will be led to the changing rooms. [Then] if nothing can be done, the game will be abandoned. If both teams feel comfortable going out, the officials agree and the security say it’s fine, then both teams will and further action will be taken after the game. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen. We’re going there hoping nothing will happen.”

When Southgate last month expressed his concerns surrounding Monday’s match in Sofia, the Bulgarian FU described his comments as “groundless, inappropriate and unnecessary”.

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