The match between Poland and England was spiced up by a loud exchange of views between Polish defender Kamil Glik and his counterpart Kyle Walker. The Englishman then accused his opponent of racism, but did not march on FIFA due to a lack of evidence.
Glik and Walker got together at the end of the first half of the qualifying match for the World Cup in Qatar. In the end, the fight turned into a multiplayer fight, in which another Albion defender Harry Maguire also took an active part.
The English side still reported the incident to the match delegate due to racism at halftime. The Polish side rejected any xenophobic basis for the whole conflict. FIFA subsequently launched an investigation in cooperation with both football associations.
“After reviewing all available materials, including match records, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has concluded that it will not initiate disciplinary proceedings against the Polish side due to a lack of evidence,” a world federation spokesman said.
“This does not change the strong position that FIFA holds in combating all forms of discrimination. In this particular case, however, we have no evidence to justify further investigation,” the report said.
After the fight, Glik and Maguire both received a yellow card. Later footage revealed that Glik had grabbed Walker by the neck at the beginning of the incident, leading to a stormy reaction from the English. Both players then shouted at each other and both visibly headed furiously and headed for the half-time break into the bowels of the stadium.
The British Daily Mail points out that although Glik provoked the fight, the referees allowed him to go to the locker room before the players with three lions on their chests, before calling the Polish defender to give him a yellow card. The Daily Mail also appreciates the approach of Captain Harry Kane, who according to the server helped the referees calm the passions.
Glik later admitted to exchanging several sharp insults with Walker, but rejected racism. He also pointed out that the defender of Manchester City did not want to shake hands with him after the match.
FIFA took a different approach than UEFA in the case of Ondrej Kudely in his conflict with Finnish midfielder Glen Kamara, which took place in the spring in the European League match between the Rangers and Slavia. Although there was no clear evidence of Kúdel’s alleged racism, the Czech defender received a ten-match penalty, which he managed to serve in the summer and at the beginning of the autumn part of the season.
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