Serbian players to make statements

All of Serbia's players and staff involved in Tuesday night's controversial UEFA Under-21 play-off against England have been asked to make formal statements.

The match, which England won 1-0 thanks to a last-minute goal from Connor Wickham to complete a 2-0 aggregate triumph, was marred by unsavoury scenes at the final whistle with scuffling on the pitch amid accusations of racism from the stands towards England left-back Danny Rose.

The Serbian federation (FSS) has announced its disciplinary committee held an extraordinary session on Thursday morning at which the request was made.

UEFA announced charges against both the FSS and the English Football Association for the improper conduct of their players, and against the Serbs for "alleged racist chanting" by fans.

And the FSS has now revealed an internal investigation is also under way.

A statement on its official website, www.fss.rs, read: "In Belgrade today, there was an extraordinary session of the disciplinary committee of the Football Association of Serbia.

"It was decided to officially request statements from all the players and members of the professional staff of the under-21 Serbia national team who took part in the second leg of the play-off on October 16 in Krusevac.

"The deadline for submission of these statements is three days. The disciplinary committee will decide which individuals will be subject to disciplinary proceedings."

The war of words which has erupted following the game continued on Thursday, with Serbia Nikola Ninkovic claiming the aggression he showed towards Rose was caused by his opponent's "inappropriate gestures" towards the home supporters.

Rose was sent off after the game had ended for kicking the ball away in anger at what he perceived was racist abuse from the crowd.

Ninkovic claims Rose was the instigator in the trouble, telling Serbian newspaper Novosti: "The guy three or four times made inappropriate gestures towards our fans.

"I was angered by his reaction so I rushed over to explain to him that he should not do that.

"I did not mean to hit him or insult him. I walked over to him and pushed him.

"A lot of his behaviour annoyed me but I know I was wrong and I know I will get a fine. I just hope it will not be too big.

"He received a red card and I got a yellow. That is probably an indication that his share of the story was significant."

Serbian FA president Tomislav Karadzic today apologised for his players' involvement but claimed they were not solely to blame.

"We witnessed ugly and inappropriate scenes after the match in Krusevac," he said.

"I take this opportunity to once again apologise to all fans of football and the English FA's delegation.

"The incident saw a fight which included individual players and members of the coaching staffs from both teams

"I have sent an apology on behalf of our association as we hosted the match, not that I think it was only our fault."

He added: "There was unacceptable behaviour from certain members of our team. Youth is not an excuse for foul and unsportsmanlike conduct and cannot be an excuse for individuals from the staff who clearly violated the rules.

"I am pleased that the members of the disciplinary committee met today and requested the necessary information."

Karadzic dismissed the notion that racism was a problem in Serbia.

"The Serbian people have never been, nor will be racist," he said. "Our history testifies to this and the crowd's reaction to the defeat should not be confused with one of the greatest evils of the modern era.

"We have great confidence in the authorities and UEFA to implement the correct procedures."

The English FA has sent UEFA a full dossier of evidence, including video footage and a catalogue of incidents which they reported to match officials during and after the match.

And FA general secretary Alex Horne has questioned whether they will play matches in Serbia again.

Horne said in a statement: "We were shocked and appalled by the disgraceful events that occurred in Serbia.

"Our players and staff were subjected to racial abuse (and) violence as well as missiles being thrown at them throughout the match. What occurred is inexcusable and not acceptable.

"It is also clear that we must defend Danny Rose, who was sent off due to the frustration of being a target of racial abuse.

"FA officials made UEFA officials aware of racist abuse from sections of the crowd aimed at a number of England's black players at half-time.

"No football team should be asked to play in any environment where racial abuse, violence and threatening behaviour is prevalent. We must question the validity of sending a team to Serbia in the future."

The cases will be dealt with at a meeting of UEFA's control and disciplinary body on November 22.