England players were booed as they took a knee before their Nations League match in Hungary, despite the fact that the majority of the Budapest crowd consisted of children.
Uefa ordered Hungary to play three games behind closed doors in June as a penalty for their fans’ racist behavior at Euro 2020.
The Puskas Arena in Budapest, however, was packed with over 30,000 fans for the match on Saturday.
England manager Gareth Southgate told Channel 4: “I have no idea why people would choose to boo the gesture.”
The Hungarian FA took advantage of a Uefa rule that permits youngsters under the age of 14 to attend for free if accompanied by an adult.
Channel 4, which is transmitting the match in the United Kingdom, requested Uefa for a statement on the situation but was told that the governing body of European football would not be commenting.
Southgate added: “The first thing, that [taking the knee] is why we do it, to try to educate people around the world. Young individuals are persuaded by older adults since they do not understand why they are doing it.
“The Uefa decision is for other people to decide. As a group, we’ve taken a stand, and everyone knows what we believe in and stand for. It’s a night when I need to concentrate on football.”
Defender Conor Coady said: “It is massively disappointing. It’s important people understand why we are doing it. It’s not something we want to hear. We want to keep spreading the word.”
Fifa has also ordered Hungary to play two games behind closed doors after racial abuse was aimed at England players during a World Cup qualifier in Budapest on September 2nd.
Both Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were abused by home fans at the same venue, who threw a flare and other objects onto the ground.
