Shame on Serbia: Young England footballers and coaches involved in mass brawl following racist abuse hurled by fans

• England player Danny Rose subjected to monkey chants after sending off
• Brawl erupts among players and coaches with fans storming the pitch
• England coach Martin Thomas headbutted by Serbian counterpart
• FA has reported 'a number of incidents of racism' to UEFA
• Former England Star Paul Ince said Serbia should be banned for 10 years
• Senior side's match against Poland postponed until tomorrow due to bad weather

England's Under 21 footballers and coaching staff were involved in a mass brawl following racist chanting at a match in Serbia.
The trouble flared when England players were pelted with missiles as they celebrated a late goal before Spurs defender Danny Rose was sent off for kicking the ball into the crowd.
Rose appeared to be subjected to monkey chants from the home supporters as as he left the field of play and responded by putting his thumbs up and then moving both arms under his shoulders in a monkey gesture.

Brawl: The fight breaks out between England and Serbia Under 21s on Tuesday night

Brawl: The fight breaks out between England and Serbia Under 21s on Tuesday night

With tensions boiling over, players from both sides were involved in angry exchanges before punches and kicks were thrown as a brawl erupted among players and coaching staff.

Scuffles broke out when supporters invaded the field moments after Connor Wickham struck in injury time to complete a 2-0 aggregate win and book England's place at next summer's tournament.

 

England assistant coach Steve Wigley was photographed being manhandled by both opposition players and training staff, while England coach Martin Thomas was headbutted by one of his Serbian counterparts.
The Football Association have confirmed they have reported 'a number of incidents of racism' to UEFA following the match in Krusevac.

In a statement The FA said it 'condemns both the scenes of racism and the confrontation at the final whistle during which time our players and staff were under extreme provocation.'

Turning ugly: Wigley fights back as the situation escalates at the Mladost Stadium in Krusevac

Assault: England coach Martin Thomas is headbutted by a member of the Serbian coaching team (right) as Stuart Pearce looks on

Stuart Pearce told ESPN: 'I think there were one or two racist incidents that came on from the crowd and they have been reported to UEFA, I believe, by ourselves.
'It is in their hands now, they will have to deal with that.
'I am very proud of my players and my staff and very proud of the achievement in getting to a fourth tournament in a row.
'It is very sad, but we are united as a team and a staff.
'A lot is happening in our country with regard to stamping out racism and I am very proud of the reaction of our players towards the end.
'It is a real shame because over two ties it was a really close game - two good teams going hammer and tongs at each other.
'It is just a shame it was soured in the last few minutes of the second leg of the tie.'
He added: 'Savo Milosevic, their technical director, has come to our dressing room and apologised for any behaviour that was unsavoury.
'I never want to see any football matches end like that, this is a sporting arena.'

England U21 manager Stuart Pearce looks on as coach Martin Thomas shouts after he was headbutted

Tension: England's Andros Townsend (centre) separates his team-mate Danny Rose from Serbia's Sasa Markovic

Former England star Paul Ince, working as a pundit on ESPN, has called for Serbia to be banned from tournament football for 10 years.
He said: 'As soon as the players were in the tunnel apparently there were issues. The Serbian conditioning coach was apparently jostling and getting his face in England players' faces.

Jack Butland, the England goalkeeper, was peppered throughout the game with various objects thrown from the stands. Stuart Pearce had a seat thrown at him. Then at the end Danny Rose was racially abused.'
'If it was me they [Serbia] would be kicked out for the next five tournament.'
Ince added he was impressed with the way England players behaved adding: 'If you are black, it is hard to actually keep control of yourself because you are the one having the racist chants.
'From looking at what we have seen on TV, they have done very well to keep cool heads.
'It is a shame because tomorrow we will be talking about something we don't want to talk about. What we should be talking about is England qualifying for Israel in 2013.'

Trouble starts: A fireman removes a flare thrown onto the pitch by Serbian fans

Tempers frayed: Serbia and England players come together in ugly scenes after the match

Serbian hooligans were implicated in ugly riots at the Euro 2012 qualifier against Italy in Genoa a year ago, where the match was abandoned after only seven minutes when fans threw flares onto the pitch.
QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, at the centre of the racial abuse case involving John Terry, took to Twitter to take a sarcastic dig at FIFA - and president Sepp Blatter - over their handling of racism in football. He wrote: 'I wonder if Blatter is gonna say they should just shake hands!??'
The ugly scenes at the end overshadowed what had been another superb defensive performance by England. Protecting a 1-0 lead from the first leg, Pearce's men held firm throughout before substitute Connor Wickham stroked into an empty goal to complete a 2-0 aggregate success in injury time.
Wickham's goal with the last kick of the match prompted the mayhem as missiles were thrown onto the field and the pitch was invaded.

Fury: England substitute Marvin Sordell (right) gives his Serbian counterparts a piece of his mind

Peacemaker: Andros Townsend (centre) separates Danny Rose (left) from Sasa Markovic

Rose, who had earlier been booked, kicked the ball away angrily and had to be restrained as he reacted to apparent provocation.
Pearce said of the match: 'The important thing, when the dust settles, is we are going to a championship because we deserved to over two legs.
'Our players have put a lot of hard effort and sweat to get there. There is a real collectiveness here. We will let the authorities deal with this.
'All we know is we have given a good account of ourselves over two matches, we have won nine out of 10 matches in qualification and I am very proud of my team.'