ENGLAND players were jeered by a crowd of SCHOOLKIDS when they took the knee ahead of their Nations League clash with Hungary in Budapest.
A crowd in excess of 30,000 watched on despite the hosts being forced to play behind closed doors for previous racism offences.
The majority of the bottom two tiers of the Puskas Arena were full for the Group A3 opener, as the hosts won 1-0 through a dodgy penalty.
Uefa had ordered Hungary to play three games in empty stadiums, the third of which has been suspended, following the behaviour of fans during Euro 2020.
Article 73 of the governing body's disciplinary regulations caps the number of VIP guests, team delegations, UEFA staff and those holding complimentary tickets.
But there is no limit on the number of school children invited to the match free of charge – with one adult accompanying every 10 children.
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England stars – as is custom – took the knee in a stance against racism and discrimination, only to be jeered by most of those in attendance.
Hungary have concurrent Fifa sanctions in place – a two-match stadium ban with a game suspended, following racist abuse aimed at England players during the 4-0 World Cup qualifying win for Gareth Southgate's side last September.
Southgate professed his "surprise" at the reported attendance figure on the eve of the match.
England are also expected to have a crowd of 3,000 in the Nations League game with Italy at Molineux later in the month.
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That is after the one-match stadium ban imposed for the trouble ahead of the Euro 2020 final defeat at Wembley last summer.
Southgate said: "We've shown how we feel about these issues, in terms of racism and it's unacceptability.
"Hopefully the young people in the stadium will recognise why this opportunity has happened and in some ways maybe this will be part of the education for the next generation.
"Each generation that passes will bring more tolerance and we have the same situation in our country, so we've got to keep setting the right example.
"All being well, the young people will enjoy the game and take a bigger message from it."
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