Poland's Kamil Glik appeared to pinch the neck of England's Kyle Walker in a half-time melee; Glik and an incensed Harry Maguire were both shown yellow cards; FIFA investigating the incident after England reported it to the match referees
Friday 10 September 2021 07:39, UK
The Polish Football Association has denied that there was a racial element to a confrontation between Poland centre-back Kamil Glik and England defender Kyle Walker during Wednesday's World Cup Qualifier.
England reported an on-field incident to the match referees after Glik appeared to pinch Walker's neck, before a half-time melee broke out between the sides in Warsaw.
Glik and England defender Harry Maguire were both booked following the incident, with the game going on to end in a 1-1 draw.
Polish FA spokesman Jakub Kwiatkowski told Sky Sports News: "I have spoken to our players and they totally deny that there was any racism.
"It was a normal football incident. Passions were running very high. There was some pushing between Glik and Walker at a free-kick. There was a lot of tension and some pushing but no racism.
"We had some discussions with the fourth official about this at half-time and I spoke to the players and they told me there was no racism."
FIFA has confirmed that it has opened an investigation into the incident.
A statement said: "FIFA is in the process of analysing the official match reports of the FIFA World Cup qualifier match between Poland and England. The relevant information will be assessed by the competent disciplinary bodies to decide on next steps."
England manager Gareth Southgate addressed the incident during his post-match interviews but did not make any direct allegations of racism.
"We're getting to grips with what that was," Southgate told BBC Radio 5 Live. "There's been a report put in and we need to find out a little bit more about what's happened. At the moment we're still gathering all the evidence so there's no point in me speculating any further."
Asked again about the incident in the post-match press conference, Southgate added: "We're trying to find out exactly what happened and when we know more then we will let people know."
