Here We Go ... The Racism Starts!

Last updated : 08 June 2012 By Footy Mad - Editor

Members of Bert van Marwijk's European Championship squad were allegedly subjected to monkey chants during an open training session on Wednesday, with captain Mark van Bommel branding the incident "a real disgrace" on Thursday.

However ... the Dutch FA told UEFA they "did not believe the abuse was racially motivated".

Piara Powar, the executive director of Football Against Racism in Europe: "Van Bommel has no reason to invent such a claim.

"We would side with Van Bommel. It's quite clear it happened.

"And if there's some confusion within the governing bodies, the KNVB or UEFA, then that's regrettable.

"In our view, the incident took place.

"If the captain says, 'My team-mates were racially abused, I heard it, I was there at the ground level', then one expects any FA to back the captain.

"We're very clear with UEFA that any incident of this kind needs to be looked at."