This archive report was first published on 4 September 2021.
FIFA has opened a disciplinary inquiry into racist abuse suffered by England players during a World Cup qualifier in Hungary on Thursday, September 2, 2021.
Monkey chants were directed at Raheem Sterling and unused substitute Jude Bellingham during the match at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, which England won 4-0.
Manchester City forward Sterling scored the first goal in the convincing victory, but the result was overshadowed by the abuse aimed at the visitors' black players.
Missiles and a flare were also thrown onto the pitch by a hostile home crowd.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the abuse, calling it “completely unacceptable” in a tweet.
“I urge @FIFAcom to take strong action against those responsible to ensure that this kind of disgraceful behaviour is eradicated from the game for good,” he tweeted.
However, Hungarian football chiefs robustly defended the “vast majority” of fans and Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warned Johnson against “hypocrisy” after the Euro 2020 final at Wembley was marred by booing and crowd trouble.
England manager Gareth Southgate has had to deal with previous episodes of racist behaviour towards his team, including Euro 2020 qualifiers in Montenegro and Bulgaria.
And Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka were the victims of online racist abuse after missing penalties in England's Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy in July.
