England's five-goal comeback delivered a gut punch to Montenegro's national soccer team in its Euro 2020 qualifier. Then the Adriatic nation's fans allegedly embarrassed themselves with chants the English players and coaches say were blatantly racist. England manager Gareth Southgate, Raheem Sterling, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and other players said they clearly heard the racist chants against a number of black players during England's 5-1 victory over Montenegro on March 25. Montenegrin coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic and other team officials said after the match that they weren't aware of the taunts, but the country's soccer association said on March 26 that UEFA, European soccer's governing body, had initiated disciplinary proceedings. "Among other things, during the disciplinary procedure UEFA will investigate details related to the allegedly individual racist behavior of the minor part of the national team of Montenegro that was notified to the delegate of the match by the representatives of the Football Association of England," it said in a statement. The statement added that the Montenegrin association would not comment on the allegation until the investigation was completed. English players said the offensive chants started early in the game when the team's black players would touch the ball. The effects of the taunts, which included monkey noises, became even more clear when Raheem Sterling scored in the 81st minute of play. After his goal put England up 5-1, he cupped his hands to his ears as he celebrated, later tweeting that it was the "best way to silence haters (and yeah I mean racists)." Danny Rose's injury-time yellow card fueled the chants further. While Tumbakovic denied hearing anything, Southgate was adamant that he heard the racist insults and chants hurled at his players. "There's no doubt in my mind it happened," he said when asked at a press conference about the incidents, which reporters at the game said they heard as well: "It's unacceptable," he added. "I heard abuse of Rose when he got booked." Racist and nationalist displays at sporting events have received increasing attention from governing bodies eager to curb such behavior in the Balkans and elsewhere. But that region still shows the scars of the bloody ethnic-based wars that broke up Yugoslavia in the 1990s, which continue to fuel nationalist extremism. FIFA, the authority over world soccer, fined both Kosovo's and Croatia's associations in November 2016 after fans chanted racist insults at Serbs during a World Cup qualifying match played in Albania. Rose himself was the target of racists taunts during a match in Serbia in 2012. James Slack, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May, said that "strong and swift action" from UEFA was needed in the incident. Montenegro faces possible fines for the incident and could be handed a sentence of a partial or full stadium closure for the team's next Euro 2020 qualifier in June against Kosovo. "Racism, as on display yesterday at the Montenegro versus England match, in Balkan football fandom is despicable as it is. However, I doubt tougher [financial] penalties will solve anything in a significant way," said Dario Brentin, a Balkans sport and politics researcher at Austria's Center of Southeast European Studies of the University of Graz. "Sanctions are worthless if you don't force FAs to invest into educational programs."<doc-sep>Gareth Southgate has denounced as “unacceptable” the racist abuse to which his players were subjected by sections of the home support during their resounding win in Montenegro, with the Football Association having submitted a formal complaint to Uefa. Danny Rose was subjected to monkey chants after a foul on Aleksandar Boljevic in stoppage time at the end of the 5-1 Euro 2020 qualifying win, with Southgate subsequently made aware of similar abuse throughout the victory. Raheem Sterling had cupped his ears towards the most vociferous section of home support after scoring England’s fifth goal and later called for the authorities to close stadiums in which such incidents have occurred. He posted a picture of his celebration on Instagram post-match with the caption: “Best way to silence the haters (yeah I mean racists).” Best way to silence the haters (and yeah I mean racists) 🙉😘 #2019 #getsomeeducation pic.twitter.com/ohhkOJtdey — Raheem Sterling (@sterling7) March 25, 2019 Callum Hudson-Odoi, on his full debut, had picked up a cigarette lighter thrown towards Sterling in the wake of that celebration. “When I went over there, Rosey and I heard it,” he said. “They were saying monkey stuff. When you are hearing stuff like that from the fans, it’s not right … it’s unacceptable and hopefully Uefa deal with it properly.” “It’s very sad,” said an emotional Southgate, who had been unaware of the abuse when conducting his half-time team talk. “We had an excellent performance and have an 18-year-old [Hudson-Odoi] being interviewed after the game having to respond to what’s happened when his evening should be about the joy of his full debut. I didn’t hear during the early part, but I’m told there were things in the early part of the game as well. I certainly heard when Danny Rose was booked. It was clear to everybody. It’s unacceptable. “I’ve spoken to our players individually. We’ve got to support them. We will report it. That reporting is already in place because so many people in other areas of the ground heard it. I believe the Uefa delegate also heard it. The players in the dressing room know that as a group of staff and organisation, we’re there for them. That’s the most important thing.” His opposite number, Ljubisa Tumbakovic, claimed he had not heard any of the chants and, when pressed, insisted he did not see “the reason why I should be commenting on that”. Sterling added: “It is a shame we are talking about this, to be honest with you. It is 2019 and there should be a real punishment for this, not just for the few people being banned. “You can fine people but what’s that going to do? It needs to be a collective thing. This stadium holds 15,000 and I think the punishment should be that, as a nation, if your fans are chanting racist abuse, it should be the whole stadium can’t watch it. Then when that ban is lifted your fans will think twice about doing anything silly like that because they all love football, they all want to be there to support their nation. So it will make them think twice to do something silly like that.” Gareth Southgate speaks to Montenegro captain Stefan Savic on the final whistle. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA On his celebration, he added: “I just wanted to let them know that they need to tell me more than that we are black and what we resemble to affect us, really. That was the message. I was happy to score and give them something to talk about.” “Sanctions are worthless if there is nothing alongside that to help educate people,” said Southgate. “My kids don’t think, for one minute, about where people are born, what language they speak, what colour they are. There’s an innocence about young people that is only influenced by older people. So we have to make sure the education is right for everybody, in our country the same. “I’m not sitting here just criticising what’s happened tonight. We have the same issue in our country, we’re not free of it. You can sanction clubs, but that won’t stop one or two people who are of a mindset to do what they want to do. So we have to educate young people because we have a better chance with young people, and spread that as far and wide as we possibly can.” The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email The England manager was asked whether he would consider calling his players off the pitch after such incidents. “I’m not 100% certain that would be what the players would want,” said Southgate, who has consistently made clear that English football has also far from eradicated racism. “From what we’ve discussed in the past, there would be a mix of views. They just want to play football. Of course we have the chance to have an impact, but I don’t have the answer, frankly. “I’m sitting here trying to find the right balance of my disgust and recognising the differing views of the players in terms of their experiences of the past. My role is to support and protect my players, first and foremost. To speak in the position I am in the right way. Beyond that, maybe taking the players off is something I’d have to consider in the future. I have to say, it wasn’t something that came to mind at the time. I would want to have a long discussion with my players before to make sure that was a course of action they felt was a) something they wanted to do, and b) thought was something that was going to make a difference. “I just think it’s a really sad evening. I’m reflecting on: ‘Should I have done more?’ In the end, I think I tried to protect my players as much as I possibly could. I’m not the authority on the subject. I’m a middle-aged white guy speaking about racism. I’m just finding it a really difficult subject to broach. “I want my players to enjoy playing football and not be scarred by the experiences. If people think I should have done more, then I apologise. I have spoken about constantly against the subject. I have supported all the education programmes in our own country. I manage every player as well as I possibly can, regardless of which club they’re from, what their roots are. It’s very difficult to find the appropriate words and am more concerned about my players at the moment.”<doc-sep>
England manager Gareth Southgate said the English Football Association will make an official complaint to UEFA after his players received racist abuse during their 5-1 European Championship qualifying win at Montenegro. Defender Danny Rose was targeted by racist abuse in the first half, according to the BBC, and Raheem Sterling, scorer of England's fifth goal, was also reported to have been abused. "I definitely heard abuse of Danny Rose when he got booked at the end of the game," said England manager Gareth Southgate. "There's no doubt in my mind that happened and we'll report it to UEFA. It's not acceptable." Southgate said he had not had a chance to talk to Sterling, who gestured by cupping his ears towards a section of Montenegro fans when he scored late on. Following the match, Sterling posted on Twitter: "Best way to stop the haters [and yeah I mean racists]." Sterling also told Sky Sports: "I didn't hear [racist chanting] personally but Danny [Rose] made it clear and [made me] aware that's what they were doing so I just wanted to show them that they were going to need more than that to upset us and stop us. "It's a shame to see this keep going on. We can only bring awareness to the situation. It's now time for the people in charge to stamp it out. You can fine someone but what's that going to do? You've got to make it a bit harder. England forward Raheem Sterling celebrates after scoring a goal against Montenegro in a Euro qualifier. Getty Images "You've got to do something that will really make them think twice because if their team can't play with fans it's going to be difficult for them." Southgate, whose side have now hit 10 goals in two Group A games, added of the incidents: "I know what I heard. We'll definitely deal with it in the right way and we have to make sure we support our players." The 18-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi, who became the second-youngest England player after Wayne Rooney to start a competitive game, said he heard monkey chants, marring what had been a memorable night in his career. "You are trying to enjoy the moment but when you are hearing stuff like that from the fans, it's not right, it's unacceptable," he told BeIn Sports. "I don't think discrimination should be anywhere -- we are equal. Me and Rosey heard it, the 'oooh, oooh' monkey stuff. You just have to keep your heads, keep a strong mentality. Hopefully UEFA will deal with it. "Raheem has spoken to me about it and told me people will be rude and say things you don't want to hear. You block it out of your head but at the same time it should not happen. It's unacceptable." The anti-discrimination group Kick it Out tweeted: "Disgraceful to hear racist chants directed at black @England players this evening. "As we've argued countless times, it's time for @UEFA to take strong, decisive action -- fines won't do. "Extended stadium bans or tournament expulsion are what's needed." Former England striker Ian Wright, commentating for ITV, said European football's governing body UEFA had to get tough. "It will probably go to UEFA and they [Montenegro] will be fined a pittance and we'll get the same thing again here the next time or somewhere else in Europe. It's not going to stop them." The alleged abuse distracted attention away from what was another vibrant display by England, whose next international competition will be participation in the UEFA Nations League final in Portugal. Information from the Associated Press and Reuters was used in this story.