England walk off as Under-15 World Cup match against Republic of Ireland is abandoned over alleged racism

Match abandoned in Baku after alleged racist slur

England walked off the pitch during their Under-15 World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland after an allegation of racism by an Irish player led to the game being abandoned.

Following an altercation between players from both sides shortly before the end of the Group C match in Azerbaijan on Monday, an England player approached his bench and made a complaint to the coaching staff. Match footage then showed England staff relaying the complaint to the referee, alleging a racist slur had been made, and calling their players off. Republic of Ireland were leading 4-1 at the time.

The moments after the allegation

The alleged incident happened in the final minute of the match. Immediately afterwards, England head coach Matt Thorpe was seen on DAZN coverage asking for the referee to come over before calling his players off the pitch.

After an initial report from Thorpe, the referee told England's coaching staff, "I cannot hear". One of Thorpe's assistant coaches was then heard telling the referee "we are reporting racism", before adding "we do not want to play". When another official approached to discuss what would happen after the match, the assistant told him: "No, our players do not want to play". He was later heard saying that a player was "upset".

Heated words were then exchanged between the two sets of coaching staff, with both saying they were trying to protect their players.

Fifa investigation

Fifa told BBC Sport it is investigating and gathering reports. "Fifa is aware of an incident at the U-15 World Cup and Festival match between England and the Republic of Ireland," a spokesperson said. "The match was abandoned by the referee following England's refusal to continue."

"The official reports are being gathered, and the matter will be referred to the independent disciplinary committee, who will decide in due course."

The Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland have been contacted for comment.

Tournament context

This is the first time the Under-15 World Cup and Festival has been played. It involves 189 countries and territories, with matches played in an eight-a-side format on smaller pitches, with 20-minute halves. Teams from 189 of Fifa's 211 member associations are taking part.

England were scheduled to play Zimbabwe at 20:45 local time (16:45 GMT) on Monday, with the Republic of Ireland facing Cambodia at the same time.