UEFA has announced that no action will be taken against Spartak Moscow youngster Leonid Mironov following allegations of racism made by Liverpool forward Rhian Brewster.
The England Under-17 World Cup winner alleged that he had been racially abused by Mironov during a UEFA Youth League encounter at Prenton Park in December.
UEFA responded to the claims by launching an investigation, which included interviewing five players from both teams, and it has now emerged that none of those individuals heard any racist language.
In a statement, the European governing body revealed that Mironov confirmed that he swore at Brewster, but did not make any references to race in his outburst.
The statement read: "Following the opening of proceedings, UEFA appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to conduct a thorough independent investigation and gather potential evidence relating to the case. Such an appointment is standard practice, given that allegations of racist behaviour are taken very seriously by UEFA and its disciplinary bodies in accordance with our zero tolerance policy towards any kind of discrimination.
"The inspector took statements from five players from both teams, as well as from two match officials, who were in the vicinity of the alleged incident. None of these heard any discriminatory words. Leonid Mironov was also interviewed by the inspector and stated that he indeed swore at Rhian Brewster, but he unreservedly denied using any discriminatory language.
"After concluding his investigation, the inspector found no evidence to corroborate the allegations, which he believed were made in complete good faith by the Liverpool player Rhian Brewster.
"Therefore, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body, following the recommendation of the inspector, established that there was no evidence that would legally support sanctioning the FC Spartak Moskva youth player Leonid Mironov and thus decided to close the disciplinary proceedings."
In an interview with The Guardian in December, Brewster accused UEFA of not taking racism seriously.
Danielle Joynson
