Dylan Bettencourt
While Saturday’s 1-1 draw against France will be remembered as a famous result for outsiders Hungary, the game has been overshadowed by allegations of racial abuse.
French forwards Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema were reportedly the targets of racist abuse by a section of Hungarian supporters.
Monkey noises directed towards 22-year-old Mbappe could be heard around the Budapest Stadium, while according to De Telegraaf, Benzema, who has an Algerian background, was also the target of abuse.
UEFA have begun an investigation into suspected abuse by fans at Hungary’s games against France and Portugal, the latter of which they lost 3-0.
In their first Euro 2020 fixture against Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo was the target of homophobic abuse with prejudiced banners making the rounds on social media. He scored two goals in the fixture to claim the victory.
A group of Hungarian supporters also planned a protest against players taking the knee before kickoff.
A statement released by UEFA said that a UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary inspector has been appointed to conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding potential discriminatory incidents which occurred in the Puskas Arena, Budapest.
Hungary is the only one of 11 host nations hosting full capacity stadiums. Hungary has been granted the privilege of playing two of their three group stage fixtures at the Arena.
Hungary face Germany in their final group stage encounter and require a victory if they are to have any chance of progressing to the Round of 16 of the competition.
The game will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, and the city’s mayor has called for the stadium to be lit up in rainbow colours in response to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation passed by the Hungarian parliament.
The contraversial law will ban the sharing of information that is considered to promote homosexuality or non-binary gender identities among under-18s.
Image source: @talkSPORT
