A formal complaint, highlighting the racist behaviour by Serbian supporters towards the Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha and alleging that further racist abuse was directed at England players in the tunnel after the match, has been submitted by the English FA to Uefa.
England have accused at least one Serbian player of racially abusing members of the Under-21 team in the aftermath of their 2-0 victory on Sunday and the FA said: "We take racism and other forms of discriminatory behaviour extremely seriously and have asked Uefa to investigate these incidents as a matter of urgency."
The British sports minister, Richard Caborn, has also promised to write to his counterpart in the Serbian government to express his "disgust" at the events of Sunday night. "I am saddened and extremely disappointed by the racism that some of our young England players were subjected to," he said.
"No player should have to tolerate such abuse which brings disgrace to the game. I urge Uefa to investigate the matter immediately."
The problems began in the first half when Onuoha was subjected to monkey chants from Serbian supporters behind the England goal. Tensions erupted later in the match when Matt Derbyshire put England 2-0 ahead while a Serbian player lay injured. A mass melee developed and it was claimed that Arsenal's Justin Hoyte was later racially abused in the tunnel.
Uefa have responded by instigating proceedings against Serbia regarding the behaviour of the crowd and their players during and after the match. England must face proceedings for the alleged "improper conduct" of their players after the match.The racist abuse from Serbian supporters was highlighted in the referee's and the match delegate's reports.
Onuoha, whose mother, aunt and cousin were watching in the stands, said: "It was horrific, a bad moment and it's not the first time it's happened in my career. In certain countries it seems to happen and nothing gets done about it. I've seen it before when I was younger. In the academy at City I used to go to places like Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany but I think those countries have changed now."
The Reading forward Leroy Lita had little sympathy for the Serbian players who protested at the manner of England's second goal. "I say if you want to play fair, then don't make those racist chants or call people racist names," he said.
Derbyshire, who scored England's controversial goal, added: "I think everyone knows around the nation what sort of country they are, the fans and what have you."
Uefa, who will not announce any punishments until a meeting of their control and disciplinary committee on July 12th, have been criticised for their lack of speed in dealing with the incident.
Uefa's director of communications, William Gaillard, said: "We need time to get an investigation going. We are speaking to the Serbia FA and their people in Holland and we are trying to identify the culprits involved. If we decide there is a need to take urgent action against a player then we will do that."
The Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone has been handed a two-game ban and is thus ruled out of the rest of the tournament after being sent off for swearing at the referee during the Serbia match.
England play the Netherlands in the semi-finals tomorrow before a possible rematch against Serbia in the final on Saturday.
Guardian Service
