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Tuchel to remind England of anti-racism protocols before Spain game
Thomas Tuchel says he will remind England’s players of Uefa’s anti-racism procedures before their Nations League match against Spain in Madrid on Sunday. The briefing follows a history of racist abuse at an England match in the city and recent discriminatory chanting at a Spanish fixture, and prepares players for how officials can respond.
Uefa’s protocol allows referees to halt a match for an announcement, suspend it for five to 10 minutes and take players off the pitch, then abandon it if discrimination continues. Spain’s football federation was fined and ordered to partially close a stadium for a friendly after Islamophobic and xenophobic chants during a match against Egypt. England are three points behind Spain; a win would secure the group and a more favourable quarter-final draw, while Spain have gone 43 matches unbeaten.
In short
- Tuchel will brief England on Uefa’s anti-racism protocol.
- Officials can suspend or abandon a match if abuse continues.
- England need a win to secure their Nations League group.
Explained simply
Uefa, European football’s governing body, has procedures for responding to racist or other discriminatory abuse during matches. A referee can stop play for an announcement, suspend the match and take players off the pitch, or abandon it if the abuse continues.
England have faced racist abuse at a match in Madrid before, and discriminatory chants were recently heard at a Spain game against Egypt. Spain’s football federation was fined and ordered to close part of a stadium for that incident.
England and Spain are competing in the Nations League, a European national-team tournament. England are three points behind Spain in their group, and the result affects who progresses and the draw for the next stage.
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