MANCHESTER, England, (Reuters) – FIFA has dismissed a complaint from England’s FA about an alleged racist incident in the Under-17 World Cup final due to a “lack of sufficient evidence”.
England player Rhian Brewster recounted in a newspaper interview an insult made by a Spain player towards team mate Morgan Gibbs-White during the final in India, which England won 5-2.
The FA subsequently lodged a formal complaint with FIFA about the incident, but world soccer’s governing body said it had dismissed all charges.
“Following a thorough investigation, the Disciplinary Committee has decided to dismiss all charges in view of the lack of sufficient evidence that could corroborate the English player’s claim,” FIFA said in a statement on Thursday.
“Despite the absence of a sanction, which can only be imposed on the basis of clear evidence, the Disciplinary Committee would like to restate FIFA’s unequivocal, zero-tolerance stance against all forms of discrimination, as enshrined in the FIFA Statutes.”
Liverpool player Brewster had highlighted other incidents of alleged racial abuse and last month European football’s governing body UEFA, dismissed a case relating to a UEFA Youth League match against Spartak Moscow.
UEFA said they had found no evidence to corroborate Brewster’s claim against a Spartak player but said they believed his complaint had been made in good faith.
