DBasia.news – The England national team experienced a series of racial abuse when they traveled to Hungary in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. The incident is now being handled seriously by FIFA.
The Hungary vs England duel took place at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Friday (3/9) am, WIB. The Three Lions successfully silenced the hosts with a landslide score of 4-0.
But England’s players were treated less than pleasantly before the game even started. They received cheers from the whole stadium when they knelt before kick off as a form of anti-racism campaign.
It didn’t stop there, Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were also targets of racial attacks. The Hungarian fans imitated the sound of a monkey aimed at the two black players.
The Hungarian fans’ commendable actions became even more prominent after England scored four goals in the second half. They threw various objects on the field including firecrackers and flares.
England coach Gareth Southgate regretted the behavior of the Hungarian fans. The players also expressed the same thing via social media.
British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson even intervened to respond to this incident. He demanded FIFA to take firm action against the perpetrators.
FIFA’s Response
FIFA responded quickly to these demands. The world football federation confirmed that the investigation process had begun.
“Once again, FIFA would like to state that our position remains firm in rejecting all forms of racism and violence and all forms of discrimination or harassment,” FIFA said in a statement.
“We have a very clear zero tolerance attitude towards such disgusting behavior in football.”
Interestingly, the Hungarian Football Federation is actually in the middle of a UEFA ban. The European football confederation sanctioned three home games without spectators due to the actions of their supporters at the 2020 European Cup.
However, this penalty does not apply to the match against England. That’s because World Cup qualification is under the auspices of FIFA.