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What's the story?
The controversy sparked over an alleged racist complaint by England's FA after last year's U-17 World Cup has been dismissed by FIFA on the grounds of "lack of sufficient evidence".
A complaint had been registered against Spain after the U-17 World Cup finale, where England's Rhian Brewster claimed that a Spaniard had passed a racist comment against his teammate Morgan Gibbs-White. The FA then went on to lodge a formal complaint with FIFA who took up the case to look into the matter further.
In case you didn't know...
The U-17 World Cup took place from October 6th to 28th last year in 2017. The event was held in India and saw England lifting the cup after beating Spain 5-2.
The heart of the matter
According to Brewster who lodged the complaint, a Spain opponent allegedly referred to Gibbs as "monkey". Speaking about the incident, he said that something happened in the box and as Morgan was running, the Spaniard called him a "monkey". Brewster who was getting into position for his goal kick allegedly overheard this remark that sparked his anger.
Months after the complaint was lodged by Liverpool's Brewster, FIFA made an announcement dismissing it on the basis of lack of evidence. “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 authorities said in a statement.
FIFA said that it had a strong zero-tolerance stance against racial discrimination in any form and had come to this conclusion after citing lack of proper evidence. “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.” FIFA stated.
What's next?
FIFA will now gear up for its next U-17 World Cup in 2019. The event is scheduled to take place in Peru with England as the defending champions.
Author's take
Despite the dismissal on the grounds of lack of evidence, one still hopes that FIFA made the right decision in refuting the claims.
