Fifa fine Croatia following racist taunts

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The Croatian Football Federation have been fined £14,920 for the racist behaviour of some of their supporters in the World Cup qualifier against England earlier this month.

England striker Emile Heskey was subjected to monkey chants from a small section of the crowd at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb after being booked during the 4-1 victory for Fabio Capello's side.

The Football Association had asked Fifa to investigate the incident and the world governing body have today issued the fine.

A statement said: "Racism has no place in football. Fifa is determined to continue broadcasting this message around the globe and deploying all of the means at its disposal to eliminate this form of discrimination."

It is the second time in a matter of months Croatian fans have been found guilty of racist behaviour with Fifa issuing a small fine during Euro 2008 following chants during their quarter-final against Turkey.

Fifa's disciplinary committee have now warned the Croatian Federation further incidents could result in "more severe sanctions".

The statement continued: "The Fifa disciplinary committee has fined the Croatia Football Federation CHF 30,000 (£14,920) for the racist behaviour of some of their supporters at the 10 September 2008 Croatia v England preliminary competition match of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

"The Croatian Football Federation was found guilty of a violation of article 58, paragraph 2 of the Fifa disciplinary code, and received a warning regarding its future conduct according to article 13.

"Further infringements of article 58 would lead to more severe sanctions by the Fifa disciplinary committee."