England v Hungary: Crowd trouble early on in Wembley qualifier

England v Hungary: Crowd trouble early on in Wembley qualifier
_121056127_fans_reuters.jpgFans clashed with stewards and police early in the game

Hungary fans fought with police in the opening minutes of Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against England at Wembley.

Some of their almost 1,000 fans - many in the black T-shirts of Hungary's ultras - booed once again as England players took the knee before kick-off.

They clashed with stewards soon after the game started and police arrived, hitting supporters with batons.

Many Hungary fans climbed over a barrier and hit security personnel - with police driven into the concourse.

There was trouble too when the sides met in Budapest with Hungary ordered to play two matches behind closed doors by Fifa following the racism English players experienced.

John Murray, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, said: "There are about 1,000 Hungary fans in that section. There was black netting over the seats either side to keep it isolated from England supporters.

"We were told before that they were all Hungary fans based in the UK who have taken the tickets. As soon as the match began there were really disturbing scenes.

"There were people in hi-vis jackets and fighting going on in the stands. There were punches being thrown. It was quite aggressive.

"Lot of the supporters involved were wearing black. There was trouble for most of the first half an hour or so and then things seemed to settle down."

A smoke bomb was also released after Roland Sallai's penalty gave Hungary a 24th-minute lead - cancelled out by a John Stones finish 13 minutes later.

Less than 1,000 tickets were sold to Hungary fans for this game, the reverse fixture of last month's meeting at Puskas Arena.

Racist abuse was aimed at England players in that qualifier. while Gareth Southgate's side were also pelted with objects in the second half and a flare was thrown on the pitch by Hungarian fans. Fifa opened disciplinary proceedings after England's 4-0 win.

Despite Uefa ordering Hungary to play three home games behind closed doors after their supporters' discriminatory behaviour at Euro 2020, fans were allowed in for the World Cup tie as it came under Fifa's jurisdiction.

Football's world governing body then ordered Hungary to play two matches behind closed doors - one suspended for two years - and fined the Hungarian Football Federation £158,400.

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