Steven Gerrard: 'Racism fight failing'

England captain Steven Gerrard is convinced that football's battle to tackle racism is "back to square one" following the scenes in Serbia.

Three Lions Under-21 player Danny Rose complained that he was racially abused by the crowd before violent scenes broke out in Krusevac.

UEFA have since announced charges against both the Serbian and the English Football Associations for improper conduct of their players and "alleged racist chanting", and Gerrard believes that the game has gone backwards in trying to rid football of racism.

"The disappointing thing with what happened is it means you are back to square one. We seemed to be making great strides forward to get racism out of our game," said Gerrard. "It is very disappointing but a lot of people above me need to take control of the situation.

"The authorities have to get tough. It is the only solution. No-one else can do anything about it.

"They are the people in control, who can give out massive huge fines and ban people. Why wait? Do it now."

The England senior side drew 1-1 in their World Cup qualifying match in Poland on Wednesday.