England and Spain’s Under-21s Euros quarter-final descended into chaos at the full-time whistle on Saturday night.
A large group of players came together at the end of England’s 3-1 win, as tempers flared and officials worked to keep players apart.
Spain striker Mateo Joseph seemed particularly annoyed with England star Charlie Cresswell.
While it was unclear what caused the brawl, Cresswell had a handball decision against him overturned by VAR early into the game with the decision leaving Spain furious.
James McAtee and Harvey Elliot both scored within the first 15 minutes to set England on course for the semi-finals.
Spain were handed a lifeline after being awarded a penalty late in the first half, but Elliot Anderson converted a late second half penalty for England to seal the win as the Young Lions sought to retain their title.
England manager Lee Carsley spoke on the brawl after the match, saying: “I think there are better ways to build camaraderie! But I think we had something similar in the final [two years ago].
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“Emotions run very high and in those kinds of scenarios you don’t want anyone to get sent off, anyone to throw a punch or get themselves in trouble.
"You try and be as respectful to both sides but you can see how much it means to the players.
“To represent your country in a quarter-final, it means a lot. We probably have to give them a bit of leeway.
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The cause of the clash is unknown
AP
“Thankfully it didn’t go over the top but it’s still not nice to see. We are always trying to fly the flag and encourage younger players especially to take up football and enjoy the game… but the passion was just a bit much.”
England captain McAtee said: “I never saw the challenge, I saw the boys start going into it, so always going in to help.
"It’s part of football, and you just have to stick together as a team.
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Spanish staff and players were not happy with Charlie Cresswell
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“It’s a big game, we know that. It’s two big teams in the tournament, so them kicking off, we can’t sit back and just let them do it, we have to give them a bit back, so I am happy with the boys.”
England won the tournament two years ago but have not shown the same fight this year.
They had stumbled out of the group stages and arrived in the quarter-final as underdogs, but they began to show some of the quality that helped them win the Euros two years ago.
England will play in the semi-final of this year’s Euros on Wednesday 25 June against the Netherlands as they aim to win back-to-back Euros.
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