England fans praised by police for ‘exemplary’ conduct in disorder-marred Serbia clash | OneFootball

England fans have been praised by police for their "exemplary" behaviour in Serbia this week after their World Cup qualifier saw multiple incidents of opposition fan disorder.

Supporters travelled to Belgrade in their thousands and the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) said on Wednesday there were no reports of any incidents involving England fans, whose side enjoyed an emphatic 5-0 win on Tuesday evening to keep their World Cup qualification hopes on track.

However, the same trouble-free conduct could not be said for the Serbian fans, with riot police dispatched to restore calm in the home end.

Superintendent Gareth Parkin, who was leading the UKFPU delegation in Serbia, said: "Once again I would like to thank all the England fans for their behaviour while out in Belgrade. We had a number of officers from UKFPU out in the city and the atmosphere throughout the day was fantastic.

"Despite a small number of incidents involving Serbian fans, the behaviour of the England fans was exemplary, not just during the match, but throughout their time in the city, and this is reflected in the fact that there were no reports of any issues."

The build-up to the game had been dominated by fears of disorder, with at least 15% of the Stadium Rajko Mitic - home of Red Star Belgrade - closed to home supporters as a Fifa punishment for “discrimination and racist abuse” in a game against Andorra in June.

The general secretary of the Football Association of Serbia (FSS), Branko Radujko, pleaded with home supporters in his matchday programme to “to send out an image to the world that will make us all proud” and “support our national team in the right way”.

“We are still under special monitoring of Uefa. Every inappropriate reaction, insult or incident could cost us dearly on our path to the USA, Mexico and Canada,” Radujko warned.

The match was briefly paused in the 38th minute, with England 2-0 up, after a laser pen was pointed at Ezri Konsa’s face, with another appearing to be shone at Reece James as he prepared to take a free-kick.

Play resumed after the short stoppage with a warning played out over the PA telling fans not to use pyrotechnics and laser pens.

Police entered the stands in Belgrade during the match (PA) (PA Wire)

The FSS could be set for further sanctions after a disturbance in the second half. England’s travelling contingent were cloistered in one section of the stands with empty sections between them and the home fans, and the disorder that erupted was actually between different groups of Serbian supporters, with some reportedly singing anti-government songs.

The disturbance occurred after around 60 minutes of play and sparked worrying scenes as families attempted to move young children away from the scene. ITV’s Gabriel Clarke reported that the unrest was related to the political protests occurring in Serbia this week between pro- and anti-government factions.

The ruling Serbian Progressive Party initially wanted to stage this match in the more remote city of Leskovac, as a way of avoiding anti-government demonstrations scheduled for 2pm in Belgrade on the eve of the game, but the FA objected.

Riot police were swiftly on the scene and defused the incident, with home fans streaming out of the stadium throughout the second half as Serbia slumped to a 5-0 defeat.