FA stunned as Spaniards escape with fine for racist taunts

SENIOR England FA figures were last night said to be “stunned” at FIFA’s decision to let the Spanish authorities escape with a fine and a final warning for the appalling racist abuse of England players in Madrid.

Publicly, the FA accepted FIFA’s announcement that the Spanish Football Federation were to be fined 100,000 Swiss Francs (€64,850) for the misconduct of thousands of their fans at last month’s friendly.

But leading officials were privately still dismayed that FIFA had not gone further than issuing a warning that any repetition may lead to matches being played behind closed doors or expulsion from one or more FIFA competitions, such as the World Cup.