Croatia fine not enough – Heskey

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Heskey wants Fifa and the FA to work together against racists in football

England striker Emile Heskey has echoed Rio Ferdinand’s call for Fifa to do more to tackle racist abuse among fans.

Fifa handed out a £15,000 fine to the Croatian Football Federation after fans targeted Heskey with monkey chants during England’s 4-1 win in Zagreb.

That led to Ferdinand accusing Fifa of “not backing up their words with actions”, and Heskey added: “Everybody knows that (the fine) is not adequate.

“I respect Fifa but if it happens again they’ll have to do something else.”

The Wigan forward, who will be hoping to lead the line in England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus, admitted he experienced similar treatment in an England shirt against Slovakia in Bratislava and during an Under-21 play-off game in Barcelona.

Ferdinand told BBC Radio 5 Live that the way to combat the problem was to deduct points from teams, and Heskey believes the English FA also has a role to play.

It was a little strange, because having come back to international football, I didn’t really expect it. Emile Heskey on the racist abuse

“If you were asking what I’d do, it would be different to that (a fine),” he said. “It was a little strange, because having come back to international football, I didn’t really expect it.

“Is a points deduction the way forward? Is that going to stop the fans from chanting more, I don’t know.

“But they’ve probably got to look at it in a broader picture as well and see where they can help.”

Football’s governing body released a statement on Wednesday stating: “Fifa and Fifa president Joseph Blatter take the fight against racism in football very seriously. Fifa not only speaks very clearly about this issue, but carries out several campaigns and projects.”