Rhian Brewster: Fifa dismisses racial abuse claim in U17 World Cup final
- Published
Rhian Brewster (above) scored in the Under-17 World Cup final
Fifa has dismissed a complaint by England of racial abuse during last year's Under-17 World Cup final because of a "lack of sufficient evidence".
Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster, 18, told the Guardian, external in December that Wolves' Morgan Gibbs-White was racially abused during the 5-2 win over Spain.
Fifa said any sanction could be imposed only "on the basis of clear evidence".
Last month, Uefa found "no evidence to corroborate" claims Brewster suffered racial abuse in the Uefa Youth League.
Uefa initially charged Spartak Moscow defender Leonid Mironov over the incident during the game at Prenton Park in December.
Mironov admitted swearing at Brewster during Liverpool's 2-0 victory but denied using racist language.
Lord Herman Ouseley, chairman of anti-racism charity Kick It Out, described those outcomes as "unsatisfactory" and called on the Football Association (FA) to take up the case with Fifa and Uefa.
He suggested the decisions "only give encouragement" to those who want "to racially abuse and act in discriminatory ways".
Lord Ouseley added: "It leaves questions unanswered, such as how much more evidence is required than two people separately hearing and corroborating the alleged abuse, in order to be acceptable as sufficient?
"Are they not believed as honest because of who they are? Who are the investigators and who makes such ridiculous decisions?
"Are any of these people from BAME backgrounds? Are any of these people competent with the personal experience of having suffered from racial abuse and discrimination?"
The FA said they are "disappointed" by the decision and would be "requesting further information from Fifa".