Pearce Disgusted as England Under 21 Match Ends In Racism Row
Stuart Pearce says UEFA will deal with complaints of racism which marred England Under 21 win
Stuart Pearce says that England have reported incidents of racism to UEFA immediately after the Under 21 side's 1-0 win over Serbia tonight, which guaranteed them entry into next year's Euro tournament.
England won the match in the dying seconds with a goal from Connor Wickham, but as the squad celebrated they were pelted with missiles from the crowd.
After the final whistle, Danny Rose was sent off for kicking the ball into the crowd, and intimated that racist insults were used against him by the Serbia supporters as he left the pitch.
A brawl also broke out between players and coaching staff on either side, leaving no question that all dignity had been lost from the match.
A statement from the FA after the game read: "The FA condemns both the scenes of racism and the confrontation at the final whistle during which time our players and staff were under extreme provocation.
"The FA has reported a number of incidents of racism to UEFA following the fixture. These were seemingly aimed at a number of England's black players by the crowd. The matter is now with UEFA."
Meanwhile Stuart Pearce is trusting that UEFA will take the complaints very seriously and hand out punishments accordingly, adding: "I never like to see any football matches end like that. This is a sporting arena.
"I think there were one or two racist incidents that came on from the crowd and they have been reported to UEFA, I believe, by ourselves.
"It is in their hands now, they will have to deal with that.
"I am very proud of my players and my staff and very proud of the achievement in getting to a fourth tournament in a row."
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