Euro 2012: Dutch skipper wants referees to act against racists

» John Hedges

An Phoblacht Editor

'If it happens at a match we will talk to the referee and ask him to take us off the field'

UEFA, the governing body of soccer in Europe and organisers of the Euro 2012 competition, is embroiled in a race row after monkey chants were directed by 'fans' at black players with the Holland team in Krakow.

Dutch players have been the targets of racist abuse by some of  the 20,000 crowd at an open practice session at the Stadion Miejski, home of Wisla Krakow.

The Dutch players said they found it particularly upsetting after they had visited the Auschwitz Concentration Camp on Wednesday.

Some observers said that many of the chants were abuse aimed at UEFA for not playing any matches in Krakow.

Holland’s captain, Mark van Bommel, responded: “Open your ears. If you did hear it, and don’t want to hear it, that is even worse.”

He warned that if racist abuse happens during a game he will press the referee to take action:

“If it happens at a match we will talk to the referee and ask him to take us off the field.”

The Dutch Football Association has since announced that it will not make any formal complaint to UEFA.

Guardian – Euro 2012: Why UEFA's failure to deal with Holland racism is no surprise

A BBC Panorama programme, ‘Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate’ last week showed “shocking new evidence of racist violence and anti-Semitism at the heart of Polish and Ukrainian football and asks whether tournament organiser UEFA should have chosen both nations to host the prestigious event”.