Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant'
17th October 2012, 15:48
The Serbian FA has denied there was any racism towards the England Under-21 team in Tuesday's Euro 2013 play-off.
And officials also blamed England's Danny Rose for clashes at the end of the game because of "inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar" behaviour.
Earlier Rose, 22, had called for Serbia to be "banned", claiming he had been racially abused during the game.
But the Serbian FA said there was a "spirit of fair play on the pitch and in the stands".
Connor Wickham scored in the 90th minute as Stuart Pearce's England side qualified for Euro 2013, with the goal sparking a series of scuffles between players and staff on both sides as missiles were thrown onto the field.
Prime Minister David Cameron has led the calls for Uefa to impose "tough sanctions" on racism, while sports minister Hugh Robertson has written to Uefa president Michel Platini alleging "extreme provocation and racism".
The Football Association reported "a number of incidents of racism" to Uefa after the match, while Rose's account of the abuse aimed at him has been published on the FA's official website.
But the Serbian FA says making a connection between the on-pitch scuffles and racism has "absolutely no ground".
In a statement on its website, the Serbian FA said it "absolutely refuses and denies that there were any occurrences of racism before and during the match at the stadium in Krusevac".
"Making connection between the seen incident - a fight between members of the two teams - and racism has absolutely no ground and we consider it to be a total malevolence.
"Unfortunately, after the fourth minute of the additional time and the victory goal scored by the guest team, unpleasant scenes were seen on the pitch.
"And while most of the English team players celebrated the score, their player number three, Danny Rose, behaved in inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar manner towards the supporters on the stands at the stadium in Krusevac, and for that he was shown a red card."
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19976781)
And officials also blamed England's Danny Rose for clashes at the end of the game because of "inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar" behaviour.
Earlier Rose, 22, had called for Serbia to be "banned", claiming he had been racially abused during the game.
But the Serbian FA said there was a "spirit of fair play on the pitch and in the stands".
Connor Wickham scored in the 90th minute as Stuart Pearce's England side qualified for Euro 2013, with the goal sparking a series of scuffles between players and staff on both sides as missiles were thrown onto the field.
Prime Minister David Cameron has led the calls for Uefa to impose "tough sanctions" on racism, while sports minister Hugh Robertson has written to Uefa president Michel Platini alleging "extreme provocation and racism".
The Football Association reported "a number of incidents of racism" to Uefa after the match, while Rose's account of the abuse aimed at him has been published on the FA's official website.
But the Serbian FA says making a connection between the on-pitch scuffles and racism has "absolutely no ground".
In a statement on its website, the Serbian FA said it "absolutely refuses and denies that there were any occurrences of racism before and during the match at the stadium in Krusevac".
"Making connection between the seen incident - a fight between members of the two teams - and racism has absolutely no ground and we consider it to be a total malevolence.
"Unfortunately, after the fourth minute of the additional time and the victory goal scored by the guest team, unpleasant scenes were seen on the pitch.
"And while most of the English team players celebrated the score, their player number three, Danny Rose, behaved in inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar manner towards the supporters on the stands at the stadium in Krusevac, and for that he was shown a red card."
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19976781)