UEFA are reportedly investigating claims that black England players were abused with monkey chants by Serbia fans.

England won 1-0 in their Euro 2024 opening match in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday night.

The Times have reported that the sickening abuse was heard during the first half, although the complaint has not come from the FA.

A statement from UEFA is said to reveal that ‘a disciplinary investigation regarding alleged discriminatory behaviour’ is being conducted by an ethics and disciplinary inspector.

The governing body will not persist with the case unless the allegation is met with strong evidence. Fare [formerly Football Against Racism in Europe] anti-discrimination observers were in attendance at the Arena AufSchalke.

As well as this, UEFA said an inspector has been assigned to set disciplinary proceedings in motion for the ‘throwing of objects’ and ‘transmitting a provocative message unfit for a sports event’, which is said to stem from a flag’s nationalistic slogan.

Serbia have previously been punished for racist behaviour – they had to play their Euro 2024 qualifier against Bulgaria in November with a partially-closed stadium following fan behaviour against Montenegro.

In addition to this, their 2022 World Cup match against Switzerland saw fans direct racist chants at ethnic Albanians and display fascist slogans.

UEFA are said to have addressed racism with match officials last week ahead of the start of Euro 2024.

Furthermore, all 24 competing nations were visited by a UEFA referee regarding technical issues, with England players reminded to follow a referee’s instructions should racism occur during a Euros match.

2

In preparation for this year’s tournament, match officials were reminded about the three-step protocols in place to deal with such abuse.

FA CEO Mark Bullingham also said that police were being funded by European football’s organisation to prosecute those who send abuse to players on social media.