Cameron “appalled” by racist abuse of England players

Charles Maggs

17 October 2012, 12:00am

The prime minister was "appalled" by the racial abuse faced by England's under-21 squad in Serbia last night, according to his official Twitter account.

Midfielder Danny Rose was sent off in injury time, but complained of being racially abused by home supporters on his way off the field.

England won the game 1-0, securing qualification for the Euro 2013 tournament.

Rose spoke of his obvious frustration after the game.
"After 60 minutes my mind wasn't really on the game. I was just so angry and it was so hard to concentrate," he said.

"Then we scored and after 90 minutes' worth of abuse, I expressed my emotions as soon as we scored."

The Professional Footballer's Association (PFA) called for tough sanctions against Serbia, claiming that it was not an isolated incident.

“We call on UEFA to invoke their full powers to ensure a strong sanction is imposed to send a message that this behaviour is totally unacceptable and that anti-racism is not just a slogan," said chief executive Gordon Taylor.

“The recent financial punishments handed down to both clubs and national football associations do not send a strong enough message that the football authorities are taking racism seriously."

The calls for tough sanctions were echoed by the FA.