Tuchel to brief England on anti-racism protocols ahead of Nations League trip to Madrid
Thomas Tuchel said he will remind his England players of the team’s anti-racism protocols as they prepare to play Spain in Madrid in the Nations League, the first England visit to the Spanish capital since the countries’ notorious meeting in 2004.
Spain beat England 1-0 at the Bernabéu in 2004, a game marred by racist abuse directed at England’s black players; Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Jermaine Jenas and Jermain Defoe were named among those targeted and the Spanish federation was fined £44,750 after the fixture.
England have since played three matches in Spain. They refused to return to Madrid for the first of those in 2009, with that game moved to Seville; the second was in Alicante in 2015 and the third in Seville in 2018.
The upcoming Nations League match will be held at Madrid’s Metropolitano. Spain were, last month, fined £15,000 and ordered to play their next friendly with a partial stadium closure after supporters sang a discriminatory chant about Muslims during a match against Egypt in Barcelona in March.
Tuchel set out his approach to the players, saying: "We had a same discussion before the Serbia game [in Belgrade in September of last year]. There is a protocol in place. Maybe we take our five minutes to inform the players about the protocol if there is a precedent [in Madrid]. It’s important that the players know about the protocol. And then, yeah, we will give our answers if stuff like this happens. Best answers are on the pitch."
England’s head coach said he did not anticipate problems at the Metropolitano and added: "It’s unacceptable," he said. "In any stadium, not even in stadiums … we will never accept racism. We will never be racist towards anyone. That’s just not who we are. I expect, of course, full support from the Spanish crowd for the Spanish team. But we will not expect anything [untoward]."
England will meet Spain in the Nations League at the Metropolitano, where Tuchel intends to take a brief moment to inform his squad about the established protocol before kick-off.
