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Watford youth team walk off after racist comments in Italy

BITTER END: Watford's youth team were told to walk off the pitch by their coach

WATFORD'S YOUTH football team walked off the pitch during a match in Italy following alleged racist comments.

The Hornets under-19 team was ordered off the field by their coach, former Aston Villa defender, Dave Hughes.

A short video which has been uploaded online, shows Hughes calling the players to walk away from the match and return to their dressing room.

The Watford Observer reported the British players left the field 15 minutes into the second half of the match between the Hornets and Latina Calcio. The coach refused to give a comment regarding the incident to the local paper.

It is currently unclear whether the alleged comment was made by an opposition player, member of the coaching staff or a supporter.

Racism charity Kick It Out made a brief statement on Twitter this morning.

The tweet said: "Kick It Out is making enquiries into an alleged racist incident which took place during the 'Wojtyla Cup' fixture between Watford and Latina."

The Hornets, whose squad consisted primarily of scholars and few young professionals, were top of their group going into yesterday's match with Latina Calcio after beating PFK Lokomotiv Sofia 2-1 on Tuesday and drawing 0-0 against Slovakian team, FK Senica, on Monday.

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