At Wembley Stadium, Hungary supporters fought with police in
the stands just after kickoff on Tuesday as officers sought to arrest a
spectator on suspicion of racially abusing a steward. Hungary drew 1-1 with
England.
Polish fans in London may also have been involved in the
disorder. Polish flags were on display in the Hungary sector and some in the
crowd which pushed back against police wore clothes with the insignia of Polish
clubs.
Poland’s own game in Tirana in Group I was suspended for
around 20 minutes. Karol Świderski had just scored for Poland in the 77th
minute when he was apparently struck by a bottle thrown from the Albania fans.
Poland’s players walked off but returned to the field and held on to win 1-0.
“Following an analysis of the match reports, FIFA has opened
disciplinary proceedings in relation to yesterday’s England v. Hungary and
Albania v. Poland FIFA World Cup qualifier matches,” world football’s governing
body said in a statement.
Disorder by Hungary fans — including racism — during the
home match against England in Budapest last month led to Hungary having to play
Saturday’s game against Albania in an empty stadium.
FIFA put Hungary on probation with the threat of another
game being played without fans if there was further disorder at games.
“FIFA strongly condemns the incidents at both matches and
would like to state that its position remains firm and resolute in rejecting
any form of violence as well as any form of discrimination or abuse,” FIFA
said. “FIFA has a very clear zero-tolerance stance against such abhorrent
behaviour in football.” -AP
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