Kylian Mbappe was the subject of racial abuse during France’s match against Hungary. The 22-year-old was targeted by the home fans, who made monkey noises at him.
This comes right after Cristiano Ronaldo was abused during Portugal’s game at the Puskas Arena. The five time Ballon d’Or winner was subjected to chants of ‘Cristiano Ronaldo, homosexual’ as he scored twice to earn the victory. UEFA have now taken note of both instances, and released the following statement:
‘In accordance with Article 31(4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, an UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has been appointed to conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding potential discriminatory incidents which occurred in the Puskas Arena, Budapest.’
Images which surfaced on social media showed homemade banners stating ‘Anti-LGBTQ’ – which is the abbreviation in Hungary for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer.
The governing body has fined Hungary for such actions in the past as well. They were slapped with a €70,000 ban in 2015 for their racial abuse against Romania. The 55,000 strong crowd had homemade homophobic banners on display, and UEFA have launched an investigation into the matter.
Karim Benzema was also targeted by the Hungary fans during the draw, as the fans picked at his Algerian roots.
They have been very animated about their protest against players taking the knee before kick-off. The fans put banners on display reading ‘Brotherhood’ and crossing out a figure taking the knee on their way to the stadium.
