FA says it has yet to find evidence of racist chanting at San Marino game
The
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand and his brother Anton were the
victims of allegedly racist abuse by some England fans during the
recent World Cup qualifier against San Marino. Photograph: John
Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images
The FA has responded to accusations of racist chanting by England fans at the San Marino World Cup qualifier by saying that it has yet to find any evidence that that was the case.
It put out a statement today which said: "The FA takes all incidents and allegations of racism extremely seriously.
In San Marino, we had FA security officers monitoring the English supporters in the stadium. This includes recorded video footage.
We also worked closely with UK Police in advance of and on the night of the game.
While we have no reason to dispute the media reports which are without doubt made for the right reasons of fighting racism, at this time we have not found any recorded evidence of the specific discriminatory chanting referring to Rio and Anton Ferdinand and the vile 'bonfire' song. We will of course continue to review all of our recorded footage.
The anti-racism body Fare (Football Against Racism in Europe) on Friday reported England to Fifa over the alleged chants and the FA said: "We recognise the importance of Fare's responsibility to report any incidents to Fifa.
We will liaise with Fifa and work with them to assist any investigation. Should evidence of any racial chanting be found, we would expect action to be taken against any individuals.
The FA would terminate englandfans [the Official England Supporters Club] membership of any guilty members, while we would expect banning orders to be issued by the courts as a minimum penalty.
We do not want supporters who chant vile or racist abuse following the England team.
The FA will continue to work closely with Kick it Out and Fare to ensure we do all we can to eradicate racism from football. We fully recognise that we must continue to address any issues that arise involving our own supporters in the same manner we expect other nations to do so.
We should also make clear that in addition to the officially ticketed englandfans in San Marino, there was also a large number of non-members who did not receive tickets through The FA.
As is normal practice for England senior away fixtures, The FA had full-time staff and security managing the collection of tickets for the games in San Marino and Montenegro.
We also made specific arrangements in Montenegro for official supporters to be issued with wristbands on collection of their tickets.
The FA has a stringent approach to ticketing and security, working closely with UK Police and other UK agencies.
We will continue to take every possible measure to ensure our supporters conduct themselves appropriately, as most have over the past decade.
However, we will not accept any racist chanting and we also call on those attending England matches at home and abroad to stop the 'No Surrender' chanting during the singing of the national anthem, both before and during games.
We have made significant progress following the hooliganism that blighted the national team in 1998 and 2000. We must continue to maintain this hard work.
NEXT POST
"This is not artistic, but it is slugging! The way the public wants it!"
Howard Cosell yelled that from ringside in 1976 as George Foreman and Ron Lyle chopped each other down like redwoods. It was one of the most ferocious, and exciting, heavyweight fights ever seen in Las Vegas.
Last October, Denver's Mike Alvarado walked into similar territory. He traded haymakers with California's Brandon Rios in a phone-booth fight, as they stood toe to toe, no dancing, bashing each other for more than six rounds.
Foreman and Denver's Lyle fought each other once. But Saturday in Las Vegas, a little more than five months after their first duel, Alvarado and Rios will go at it again. They'll fight for the vacant WBO junior welterweight championship on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" from Mandalay Bay at 8 p.m.
This time, if Alvarado has his way, he'll set aside pride and listen to his head more than his heart. If he wants to beat Rios, Alvarado will have to relearn to be a boxer. He needs to be artistic.
"I'm not gonna let my heart get in the way," Alvarado said. "I don't need to prove to people that I can get beat up and survive. I did that already. I'm gonna be smarter this time."
The first fight between Alvarado and Rios was all guts and will and pride — and very little nuance. No tricky defense like Floyd Mayweather. No working the angles like Manny Pacquiao. Both boxers wobbled, but neither fell. Rios won, by a technical knockout in the seventh round, after referee Pat Russell stepped between a flurry near the ropes to stop the bout.
Fans immediately demanded a rematch.
"I'm gonna make it frustrating for him this time," Alvarado said after sparring last week at Delgado's Gym in Denver. "I'm a better technician. I'm gonna box him."
There's a difference between boxing and slugging. True boxers (Muhammad Ali and Willie Pep, for instance) are fleet on their feet and smart with their jabs. Sluggers, on the other hand (Foreman, Lyle), rely more on pure power, using hooks and uppercuts.
In their first fight, Alvarado landed 175 punches to Rios' 161 — an amazing number over just six-plus rounds. And more than 80 percent of their blows were power punches. Fans loved the bout and its nonstop, bruising action. Sports Illustrated tabbed it the fight of the year for 2012. Fans expect the same from Alvarado-Rios II. Whether Alvarado fights face-first like he did last time is the big story line.
"I was winning that first fight. But I fought too much," Alvarado said. "I let my pride get to me. I thought, 'I can be tougher than this guy.' "
Alvarado, 32, has worked on moving around the ring and clutching his sparring partners to slow momentum — drawing from his experience as a two-time Colorado wrestling champion from Thornton's Skyview High. He wants Rios coming forward, chasing, out of range. Then, when the action picks up, pop him hard. And keep moving.
"I think a smart Mike beats Brandon Rios," said veteran cut man Rudy Hernandez, who joined trainer Shann Vilhauer in Alvarado's camp full time for this fight. Hernandez trained his brother, Genaro "Chicanito" Hernandez, to two world titles two decades ago.
"If it comes down to who has more guts? That's a coin flip," Hernandez said. "But we're trying to teach him not to let his emotions get in the way. He'll fight with his heart too much if you let him."
Rios, for his part, is eager to let fists fly again.
"We are warriors," said the 26-year-old Rios (31-0-1, 23 KOs). "And if you are a warrior, you want to fight again and again and again.
"We try to get the job done the only way we know how. We can try to change it up in the gym, but once the bell rings and we get hit, we go back to doing what we know how to do. That's the warrior mentality."
In a furious fifth round last October, Alvarado tagged Rios with two chin-snapping uppercuts. They buckled Rios' knees. But Rios recovered. The two then traded hammer shots non-stop over the final 20 seconds.
"When the fight starts, and you feel the contact, you have that deeply ingrained instinct to go to war," HBO boxing broadcaster Jim Lampley said. "Alvarado is a fighter to the core. He's a terrific fighter. But there's a strong chance he's a one-way fighter."
Before the Foreman-Lyle fight in 1976, Cosell asked Ken Norton, who was ringside for the broadcast, if Foreman's new, smarter boxing tactics and game plan would work against Lyle. Norton said: "He can change it in the gym. But once he gets into the heat of battle and gets hit, he's very subject to go back to what he knows best."
Foreman won that bout, but after it turned into a slugfest, as Norton predicted it would, Cosell yelled at the height of the action: "What a fight! Utterly without boxing skills!"
Against Rios, Alvarado is ready for another barrage. But he might not cling to it.
It put out a statement today which said: "The FA takes all incidents and allegations of racism extremely seriously.
In San Marino, we had FA security officers monitoring the English supporters in the stadium. This includes recorded video footage.
We also worked closely with UK Police in advance of and on the night of the game.
While we have no reason to dispute the media reports which are without doubt made for the right reasons of fighting racism, at this time we have not found any recorded evidence of the specific discriminatory chanting referring to Rio and Anton Ferdinand and the vile 'bonfire' song. We will of course continue to review all of our recorded footage.
The anti-racism body Fare (Football Against Racism in Europe) on Friday reported England to Fifa over the alleged chants and the FA said: "We recognise the importance of Fare's responsibility to report any incidents to Fifa.
We will liaise with Fifa and work with them to assist any investigation. Should evidence of any racial chanting be found, we would expect action to be taken against any individuals.
The FA would terminate englandfans [the Official England Supporters Club] membership of any guilty members, while we would expect banning orders to be issued by the courts as a minimum penalty.
We do not want supporters who chant vile or racist abuse following the England team.
The FA will continue to work closely with Kick it Out and Fare to ensure we do all we can to eradicate racism from football. We fully recognise that we must continue to address any issues that arise involving our own supporters in the same manner we expect other nations to do so.
We should also make clear that in addition to the officially ticketed englandfans in San Marino, there was also a large number of non-members who did not receive tickets through The FA.
As is normal practice for England senior away fixtures, The FA had full-time staff and security managing the collection of tickets for the games in San Marino and Montenegro.
We also made specific arrangements in Montenegro for official supporters to be issued with wristbands on collection of their tickets.
The FA has a stringent approach to ticketing and security, working closely with UK Police and other UK agencies.
We will continue to take every possible measure to ensure our supporters conduct themselves appropriately, as most have over the past decade.
However, we will not accept any racist chanting and we also call on those attending England matches at home and abroad to stop the 'No Surrender' chanting during the singing of the national anthem, both before and during games.
We have made significant progress following the hooliganism that blighted the national team in 1998 and 2000. We must continue to maintain this hard work.
NEXT POST
Mike Alvarado vs. Brandon Rios, the sequel, looks to be a slugfest
Mike
Alvarado punches Brandon Rios during the WBO Latino Super Lightweight
Title fight at The Home Depot Center on October 13, 2012 in Carson,
California. (Denver Post file photo)
Related
Howard Cosell yelled that from ringside in 1976 as George Foreman and Ron Lyle chopped each other down like redwoods. It was one of the most ferocious, and exciting, heavyweight fights ever seen in Las Vegas.
Last October, Denver's Mike Alvarado walked into similar territory. He traded haymakers with California's Brandon Rios in a phone-booth fight, as they stood toe to toe, no dancing, bashing each other for more than six rounds.
Foreman and Denver's Lyle fought each other once. But Saturday in Las Vegas, a little more than five months after their first duel, Alvarado and Rios will go at it again. They'll fight for the vacant WBO junior welterweight championship on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" from Mandalay Bay at 8 p.m.
This time, if Alvarado has his way, he'll set aside pride and listen to his head more than his heart. If he wants to beat Rios, Alvarado will have to relearn to be a boxer. He needs to be artistic.
"I'm not gonna let my heart get in the way," Alvarado said. "I don't need to prove to people that I can get beat up and survive. I did that already. I'm gonna be smarter this time."
The first fight between Alvarado and Rios was all guts and will and pride — and very little nuance. No tricky defense like Floyd Mayweather. No working the angles like Manny Pacquiao. Both boxers wobbled, but neither fell. Rios won, by a technical knockout in the seventh round, after referee Pat Russell stepped between a flurry near the ropes to stop the bout.
Fans immediately demanded a rematch.
"I'm gonna make it frustrating for him this time," Alvarado said after sparring last week at Delgado's Gym in Denver. "I'm a better technician. I'm gonna box him."
There's a difference between boxing and slugging. True boxers (Muhammad Ali and Willie Pep, for instance) are fleet on their feet and smart with their jabs. Sluggers, on the other hand (Foreman, Lyle), rely more on pure power, using hooks and uppercuts.
In their first fight, Alvarado landed 175 punches to Rios' 161 — an amazing number over just six-plus rounds. And more than 80 percent of their blows were power punches. Fans loved the bout and its nonstop, bruising action. Sports Illustrated tabbed it the fight of the year for 2012. Fans expect the same from Alvarado-Rios II. Whether Alvarado fights face-first like he did last time is the big story line.
"I was winning that first fight. But I fought too much," Alvarado said. "I let my pride get to me. I thought, 'I can be tougher than this guy.' "
Alvarado, 32, has worked on moving around the ring and clutching his sparring partners to slow momentum — drawing from his experience as a two-time Colorado wrestling champion from Thornton's Skyview High. He wants Rios coming forward, chasing, out of range. Then, when the action picks up, pop him hard. And keep moving.
"I think a smart Mike beats Brandon Rios," said veteran cut man Rudy Hernandez, who joined trainer Shann Vilhauer in Alvarado's camp full time for this fight. Hernandez trained his brother, Genaro "Chicanito" Hernandez, to two world titles two decades ago.
"If it comes down to who has more guts? That's a coin flip," Hernandez said. "But we're trying to teach him not to let his emotions get in the way. He'll fight with his heart too much if you let him."
Rios, for his part, is eager to let fists fly again.
"We are warriors," said the 26-year-old Rios (31-0-1, 23 KOs). "And if you are a warrior, you want to fight again and again and again.
"We try to get the job done the only way we know how. We can try to change it up in the gym, but once the bell rings and we get hit, we go back to doing what we know how to do. That's the warrior mentality."
In a furious fifth round last October, Alvarado tagged Rios with two chin-snapping uppercuts. They buckled Rios' knees. But Rios recovered. The two then traded hammer shots non-stop over the final 20 seconds.
"When the fight starts, and you feel the contact, you have that deeply ingrained instinct to go to war," HBO boxing broadcaster Jim Lampley said. "Alvarado is a fighter to the core. He's a terrific fighter. But there's a strong chance he's a one-way fighter."
Before the Foreman-Lyle fight in 1976, Cosell asked Ken Norton, who was ringside for the broadcast, if Foreman's new, smarter boxing tactics and game plan would work against Lyle. Norton said: "He can change it in the gym. But once he gets into the heat of battle and gets hit, he's very subject to go back to what he knows best."
Foreman won that bout, but after it turned into a slugfest, as Norton predicted it would, Cosell yelled at the height of the action: "What a fight! Utterly without boxing skills!"
Against Rios, Alvarado is ready for another barrage. But he might not cling to it.
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