UEFA Investigates Croatian Fans After Banana Thrown on Field

European soccer’s governing body is looking into reports from match observers  that Croatian supporters engaged in racist behavior in their team’s game  yesterday with Italy.

Two monitors from UEFA-appointed Football Against Racism  Europe have filed a report stating as many as 500 supporters in the Croatian  section subjected Italy striker Mario Balotelli, who is of Ghanian descent, to  monkey chants throughout the game in Poznan, Poland. A banana was also thrown  onto the field.

“This was the worst incident inside a stadium during the  tournament because of the scale of the numbers,” Piara Pawar, executive director  of FARE, said in a telephone interview. The observers report also includes  details of far-right banners displayed by Croatian fans.

The investigation is the latest into supporters during the  16-team tournament being co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland. UEFA has already fined  the Russian and German federations for misbehavior by supporters.

“To their credit Italian fans sung Balotelli’s name to try and  drown out the chants from Croatian fans,” Powar said. “It was fairly consistent  throughout the game.”

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