KRAKOW, Poland ● The Polish city in which England is based for the finals of Euro 2012 was at the centre of a growing race row today with the Holland captain, Mark van Bommel, warning UEFA that he will lead his team off the pitch if they are abused during matches after an alleged incident occurred at a training session.
Black players in the Dutch squad were subjected to “monkey chants” from supporters of Wisla Krakow during open training at the Polish club’s stadium on Wednesday, according to the midfielder. Van Bommel said he led the players to the other end of the pitch after the chanting from around 500 fans as the squad ran past during two warm-up laps. The incident occurred just hours after the Dutch squad had visited the Second World War concentration camp at Auschwitz, which is close to Krakow.
UEFA and the Dutch football association played down the row but today Van Bommel warned: “It’s a real disgrace, especially after getting back from Auschwitz, that you are confronted with this. We will take it up with UEFA and if it happens during matches we will talk to the referee and ask to leave the field.”
When questioned by Dutch journalists, some of whom claimed not to have heard the abuse, Van Bommel added: “You need to open your ears. If you heard it and did not want to hear it then that is even worse.”
The training session was raucous with claims that the fans were protesting because Krakow had been overlooked as a host city for the tournament.
The row comes ahead of England holding its first open training session at the city, which also hosts Italy, and with 3,500 locals being invited for the ticket-only event. Racism has been a problem in the city in the past with the fans of both Wisla Krakow and another local club, Cracovia, having faced allegations of abuse.
UEFA, which has a zero-tolerance policy on racism at soccer grounds, said it had spoken to the Dutch and claimed it had been told there had been no racist incident. This is contradicted by Van Bommel’s recollection of what happened. However, UEFA has been criticized for its lenient response to previous incidents.
The fear of racism occurring during the finals has become a huge concern for UEFA given the history of abuse in Poland and the other host nation, Ukraine, in particular with UEFA president Michel Platini confirming earlier this week that referees had been instructed to halt matches if a player is abused. But he also warned that players would be cautioned if they left the pitch in protest.
At the same time several of England’s black players have confirmed that they have told their families not to travel to the team’s matches in Ukraine because of the fear of being racially abused. The Football Association made representations to UEFA before the tournament over the prospect of players being abused and the UK’s senior policeman in charge of soccer matters, Assistant Chief Constable Andy Holt, has also warned of the possibility.
Holland, like England, plays its three group matches in Ukraine but has chosen to base itself in Poland, as have most of the nations taking part in the finals.