90min

FIFA investigating claims Kamil Glik racially abused Kyle Walker during Poland draw

By Krishan Davis

A furious Harry Maguire confronts Kamil Glik
A furious Harry Maguire confronts Kamil Glik / Michael Regan/Getty Images
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FIFA have opened an investigation into the half-time scuffle during England's 1-1 draw with Poland on Wednesday amid claims from the Three Lions that Kyle Walker was racially abused by Kamil Glik.

Glik appeared to pinch Walker on the throat during the ill-tempered World Cup qualifier, which ultimately led to a heated clash between the two sets of players in which centre-back Harry Maguire was clearly furious about something.

Harry Maguire, Jan Bednarek
Several players became involved in the melee / Michael Regan/Getty Images

FIFA will now investigate the incident to understand exactly what happened and what led to the subsequent melee, and The Mirror note they will begin by looking into the FA's claims of racism from Glik.

FA chiefs Emily Webb and Tony Conniford raised the issue to the fourth official during the game, and while England are yet to go public with their allegations, they have filed a report to FIFA to get the matter investigated.

“The English FA said there had been a racist remark made but Glik says that is completely not true," said Poland executive Jakub Kwiatkowski. "I know the players and they have not done that and nor would they. We completely deny any allegations of wrongdoing.”

Asked about the scuffle on BBC Radio 5 Live following the match, England manager Gareth Southgate said: "We're getting to grips with what that was.

"There's been a report put in and we need to find out a little bit more about what's happened. At the moment we're still gathering all the evidence so there's no point in me speculating any further."

During his post-match press conference, he added: "We're trying to find out exactly what happened and when we know more then we will let people know."

England surrendered a slender one-goal lead and their 100% record in Group I when Poland equalised in injury time at the end of the match - an often fraught encounter with seven players booked overall.

Harry Kane opened the scoring with a thumping long-range strike with 20 minutes remaining, but the Three Lions were denied when Damian Szymanski nodded home a Robert Lewandowski cross in the 92nd minute.

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