August 15 – English Championship club Queens Park Rangers have called on UEFA to intervene after their under-18 team were forced to leave the pitch during a recent friendly in Spain because of racism.
Paul Furlong, the Queens Park Rangers Under-18s coach, took the players off after they were allegedly subjected to racist taunts in Seville last week. QPR were playing AD Nervion in a pre-season game which was subsequently abandoned.
“We take a very strong stance against racism and will not tolerate one of our players being subjected to the despicable comments experienced,” QPR chief executive Lee Hoos said.
“I urge UEFA to take the strongest possible action as incidents of this nature are happening far too often. There is an opportunity here for UEFA to make a strong statement. I hope it is an opportunity they take.”
In response, UEFA commented: “The fight to eliminate racism, discrimination and intolerance is a major priority of the organisation.”
However, UEFA added its disciplinary bodies could only take action for incidents that take place in UEFA competitions. Incidents occurring in domestic matches fall under the jurisdiction of the relevant national association, while those occurring in friendly matches fall under the jurisdiction of FIFA.
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