FORMER LIVERPOOL and Manchester United player Paul Ince reacted to the ugly scenes after England Under 21’s 1-0 win against Serbia by calling for the home side to be banned from tournament football.
Ince, whose son Tom Ince was on the field, urged the heads of Uefa and Fifa, Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter to take meaningful action against the Serbian Football Federation.
“It's disgraceful to see these scenes,” said the ex-England midfielder.
“If it was me, they [Serbia] would be kicked out for the next five tournaments - European, World Cups - but they will get a little ban and that will be it. Things like that are not what we want to see in football. It takes it back to the dark ages.”
Ince revealed his concern for his 20-year-old son who is a Blackpool player. He told ESPN: “When your son's out there, it's worrying”.
The match, played last night in Krusevac, saw Tottenham’s Danny Rose red-carded after the final whistle for kicking the ball into the crowd.
There are allegations that Rose was racially abused by home fans, who ran onto the pitch after the final whistle and threw missiles at England’s players during the game.
The FA has collated a number of racist incidents and reported them to Uefa. In a statement, the FA said it “condemns both the scenes of racism and the confrontation at the final whistle during which time our players and staff were under extreme provocation”.
England’s football governing body added: “The FA has reported a number of incidents of racism to Uefa following the fixture. These were seemingly aimed at a number of England black players by the crowd. The matter is now with Uefa.”
This is not the fist time Serbian fans have faced accusations of racism.
In 2007, during the Under-21 European Championship in Holland, the Serbian Football Federation was fined £16,000 when its supporters were found guilty of racially abusing England’s Nedum Onouha.