Racism and disorder during England’s win in Hungary was completely preventable

The chief executive of Kick it Out believes Fifa failed with its risk assessment following the racism and disorder

One of the many sad things about what unfolded during England’s game in Hungary on Thursday is that it was completely preventable. We knew at Kick It Out there was a high risk of racism and disorder, so Fifa must have known too, but nothing was done to prevent it.

So we find ourselves with victims, when there didn’t need to be victims, and we are talking about sanctions when the solution was to put adequate prevention in place. It’s laughable that the stadium ban imposed by Uefa for the discriminatory behaviour of Hungary fans at Euro 2020 did not automatically apply because this was a Fifa tournament. But even setting that aside, I’d love to know what risk assessment work Fifa did around this match.