FA deny hearing racist Rio chants

RIO FERDINAND’S racism row escalated last night when the FA said they had no evidence of vile chants from fans.

The Manchester United defender has expressed shock over allegations a minority of England fans sang racist songs about him and his brother during the San Marino game.
But Club England managing director Adrian Bevington said: “At this time we have not found any recorded evidence of discriminatory chanting referring to Rio and Anton Ferdinand and the vile ‘bonfire’ song.
“We will, of course, continue to review all of our recorded footage.”
Some supporters are alleged to have chanted that Rio and Anton should be burnt on a bonfire.
And a complaint was lodged to FIFA by Football Against Racism in Europe.
Fans turned on Ferdinand after he withdrew from the England squad to focus on his fitness schedule.
But he then travelled to Qatar to work as a TV pundit on the San Marino game.
Ferdinand wrote on Twitter: “You expect and accept banter from fans as it’s part of what makes the game great.
“But racism is not banter and from your own fans — WOW.
“Always a small minority who ruin it for others.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions though, as it might just have been banter. We will see after the investigation.”
Alex Ferguson has backed Rio to ride out the storm.
The United boss said “That’s modern society I’m afraid.
“We see a lot of that and I don’t think we can change that.
“They are always ready to vent their spleen against whoever displeases them.
“I think it will blow over quite quickly.
“The most important thing is that people realise that Rio’s international career had been in doubt for a while.”
And Fergie believes the player has nothing to be ashamed about over how he withdrew from the squad.
He said: “Rio did the right thing in meeting Roy Hodgson.
“I thought he should go and do it face to face with Roy and explain how we handle him and how he prepares for games.”
Ferguson added he had no problem with Ferdinand’s trip to Qatar. He said: “They had the weekend off and players are entitled to do what they want.”