FA slams 'abhorrent' Montenegro chants

The Football Association (FA) has described alleged racist behaviour during England's Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro on Monday as "abhorrent" and has welcomed UEFA's investigation into the incident. England boss Gareth Southgate claimed full-back Danny Rose was targeted after picking up a late yellow card, while Callum Hudson-Odoi revealed he heard "monkey stuff" in Podgorica.

Montenegro coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic said he had "not heard nor noticed any chanting", but the nation has received multiple charges from UEFA, including one for racist behaviour. The governing body has also charged Montenegro for setting off fireworks, throwing objects, crowd disturbances and the blocking of stairways.

In a statement, the FA highlighted the importance of combining "sanctions and education" and believes there is still a long way to go to eradicate the issue.

"On Monday evening, England players were subjected to abhorrent racist chanting while playing in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro," a statement read.

March 25, 2019

"This is unacceptable at any level of the game and we welcome UEFA's decision today to take disciplinary action. Our immediate focus is on supporting UEFA with their investigation and the players and staff involved. The issues we saw last night are not isolated to any specific country, and despite progress English football still has its own incidents of discrimination.

"Our experience is that by combining both sanctions and education, whilst working alongside campaigners such as Kick It Out, real progress can be made. But there remains much work to be done. Football is a game for all and we must all take responsibility to work together and share our experiences and learnings to tackle discrimination in the game."

UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary board will hear the case on May 16.