Montenegro fined €20,000 over fans’ racist chants against England
Written by News on 27/04/2019
Montenegro’s football team is being forced to play its next game behind closed doors after some of its fans racially abused England players.
The country’s football association has also been fined €20,000 by UEFA.
Manager Gareth Southgate’s side strolled past Montenegro 5-1 in a European qualifier in Podgorica late last month.
But the win was soured by racist chanting, with Southgate saying he heard defender Danny Rose being abused after picking up a yellow card, describing it as “completely unacceptable”.
Winger Callum Hudson-Odoi said he “heard monkey chants”.
Raheem Sterling, who held his ears out after scoring England’s fifth goal, said “all the (Montenegro) fans” needed to be punished “so they can’t come to the games”.
He added: “You’ve got to do something that’s really going to make them think twice.
“Because if their team can’t play with fans it’s going to be difficult for them and make them think twice about it.”
The Football Association of Montenegro said it had been “sanctioned” by UEFA “due to the racist outburst of a small number of unreasonable fans”.
As a result, the country’s team will “play the next qualifying game in front of the empty stands of the City Stadium in Podgorica”, it added.
That match is against Kosovo on 7 June.
The statement continued: “UEFA’s disciplinary commission obliged the Football Association to display the #EqualGame transparency and the UEFA logo at the same match.
“In addition, our Alliance has been fined €20,000 because of the use of pyrotechnics, placing items in the field and blocking passages at the stadium stadium in Podgorica in the match with England.”
(c) Sky News 2019: Montenegro fined €20,000 over fans’ racist chants against England
