Yahoo News England stars Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham subjected to alleged racist abuse in Hungary
England players were subjected to alleged racist abuse during their 4-0 World Cup qualifying win against Hungary.
Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were said to be subject of monkey chants from sections of the Puskas Arena on Thursday night.
Eyewitnesses claimed abuse was first directed at Sterling, who opened the scoring for the Three Lions, and then at Bellingham when warming up on the touchline.
Video footage also appeared to show a fan making racist gestures.
Captain Harry Kane was asked for his reaction in the immediate aftermath, but said: “I didn’t hear that. I will talk to the boys and see if they heard anything.
“We will have to report it to Uefa. If it is the case hopefully Uefa will come down strong.”
John Stones added: “I was told about it after. It is so sad to think that this happens at our games. I hope Uefa and whoever needs to take care of it does.
“We stand together as a team which we did at the beginning and will continue fighting for what we believe as a team.”
Harry Maguire said: “I have spoken to a couple of lads, I did not hear them myself and if it did happen then I am disappointed. Three, four of us did not hear them but you guys can hear them more clearly on TV.”
In a statement, the Football Association (FA) said: “It is extremely disappointing to hear reports of discriminatory actions towards some of our England players.
“We will be asking FIFA to investigate the matter.
“We continue to support the players and staff in our collective determination to highlight and tackle discrimination in all its forms.”
Football’s world governing body Fifa are sure to investigate the allegations, as well further incidents during the match.
Sterling also had paper cups and debris thrown at him as he celebrated his 55th-minute goal. Later a flare was thrown onto the pitch.
England were loudly booed ahead of kick-off when they took the knee in a show of solidarity in the fight against racism and discrimination.
There had been fears leading up to the clash that the crowd inside the Puskas Arena would protest against the gesture - and that was realised with boos and whistles reverberating around the stadium.
Hungary were handed a three-match stadium ban - with the third game suspended - and the Hungarian Football Federation fined €100,000 earlier this summer following discriminatory behaviour by fans at Euro 2020, where Budapest was a host city.
However, that ban does not apply to Fifa competitions, so there was a capacity crowd of more than 60,000 fans at the Puskas Arena on Thursday night.
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