Lees ‘charged by Serb
police over match row’

Reports emerged late last night that Lees, 21, was one of two players to be charged by Serbian police in the wake of the October 16 match in Krusevac. A member of Stuart Pearce’s backroom team has also reportedly been charged.

Leeds revealed in a statement, however, that neither they, the Football Association or Lees had been contacted about any charge.

The statement read: “Neither the club nor the FA, or indeed the player, have received any form of formal communication, and the FA have confirmed that they will seek at the earliest opportunity to establish the exact nature of the charge and arrange for the most appropriate legal representation.”

The FA and the Government said they would await further developments before deciding how to respond to charges.

The match against Serbia was marred by racist chants from the stands and by violent scuffles after the final whistle.

UEFA launched its own disciplinary proceedings in the aftermath of the match over the behaviour of the players and the response of the Serbian football authorities to complaints over racism following chaotic scenes after an injury-time goal from Connor Wickham secured a 1-0 win.