Callum Hudson-Odoi tells Sky Sports News he heard monkey chants
Tuesday 26 March 2019 14:25, UK
Gareth Southgate says England will report racist chanting he heard directed at Danny Rose during his side's 5-1 European Qualifier win over Montenegro in Podgorica on Monday.
England continued their Euro 2020 qualification campaign with another emphatic win - three days after scoring five without reply against Czech Republic - but the performance was marred by abuse directed at the visitors, while objects were also thrown on the pitch.
Southgate said he heard Rose getting abused but had yet to speak to Raheem Sterling about any chants he may have been on the receiving end of, after the Manchester City forward celebrated England's fifth goal by cupping his ears towards the Montenegro fans.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, who impressed on his full debut, also confirmed to Sky Sports News that a lighter was thrown in the direction of the England players as they celebrated Sterling's goal.
"When Danny Rose was booked at the end of the game I definitely heard racist chanting behind me," Southgate told Sky Sports News.
"It's completely unacceptable. The most important thing is that our players feel supported by us and we'll make sure it's reported and we are there for them and anything they want us to support them with, that we are able to do.
"I think that reporting is already in place because so many people in other areas of the ground have heard it.
"I believe the UEFA delegate also heard it."
Southgate says Rose will receive close support from England staff and was at a loss to understand why such behaviour was still prevalent in the game.
"It's not for me to discuss how he is, but he knows that we are here to support him and he knows that I've talked to him about this sort of situation before," he added.
"We've just got to hope that it's dealt with in the right way because we'll make sure we do our part, but it needs to be followed up correctly as well.
"It's difficult for me to know what the sanctions should be. It's not acceptable that it's still in the game, but it's not acceptable that it's still in society.
"We're away from home, but I've said before, we're not clear of this issue at home and we've got to make sure our players are supported, we've got to put our own house in order at home and we'll push for the right sanctions here."
Montenegro's head coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic, however, denied hearing any racist chanting while the country's press officer attempted to shut down questions from the British media on what had been reported by Southgate.
Tumbakovic said: "I have not noticed nor heard any chanting. The first time I have heard [of] this is now. First of all, I don't see the reason why I should comment on that.
"Second, I haven't heard anything. Third, I was thinking about the game, so I had to concentrate on the game."
