FIFA investigate racist abuse

FIFA will hold an investigation and demand answers from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) after home fans hurled racist abuse at England's black players in their friendly international against Spain in Madrid yesterday.

FA complaints
England's Football Association (FA) and the British sports minister, Richard Caborn MP, condemned the incidents and have contacted FIFA about the chanting, which included monkey noises. Racist abuse was also heard at the Under-21 friendly between the two nations on Tuesday.

FIFA concern
"FIFA is concerned about the latest surge of racism in football and harshly condemns these incidents," a statement said. "FIFA will be investigating the circumstances of the two friendly matches between Spain and England as they come under FIFA's ambit. It will demand explanations from the Spanish football association."

'No room for racism'
FIFA President Jospeh S. Blatter said: "There is no room whatsoever for racism or discrimination in our sport. On the contrary, football is a tool for building bridges and nurturing tolerance. The world is already too full of conflict that has its roots in racism and discrimination. Football has a positive influence that can and must be used to eradicate this scourge."

Further condemnation
The Spanish foreign ministry also condemned the abuse. The RFEF has suggested that the situation was not helped by English journalists overemphasising the problem in the build-up to the game.