Union head fears Euro 2012 racism

The head of the worldwide union for footballers has said that Euro 2012 players are at risk of racism in Poland and Ukraine.

The secretary-general of FIFPro, Theo van Seggelen, also fears that fans from visiting countries will receive a hard time from Polish and Ukrainian supporters away from stadiums.

Van Seggelen told BBC Sport: "Ukraine will be very difficult for fans.

"I think that this tournament will not be remembered for the atmosphere - that for me is 100% sure. Ukraine is not the ideal place to play this kind of event.

"We have to hope [the Eastern European fans responsible for racism and violence] are not the same people who are watching the games in Poland and Ukraine [at Euro 2012] because then we have a real problem.

FIFPro's research into racism, violence and match-fixing in Eastern Europe revealed that just over 10% of players questioned had been victims of violence, with over 50% of all those incidents blamed on supporters.