Post date: Jun 08, 2012 10:12:53 AM
KRAKOW, POLAND (JUNE 06, 2012) (REUTERS) - Netherlands players heard monkey chants from the crowd at a Euro 2012 training session at Wisla Krakow's stadium, a team spokeswoman said on Friday, casting a shadow over what had been a near carnival atmosphere.
Monkey chants allegedly directed towards Dutch players at training session , fans say it reflects badly on Poland
Coach Bert van Marwijk, Dutch officials and assembled press did not hear any racist abuse during Wednesday's session but it has since emerged that a handful of the squad did.Immediately after Wednesday's session, Van Marwijk had told reporters the atmosphere was fantastic with over 30,000 Poles turning up just to watch training.
Krakow is not staging any matches.
The build-up to the tournament being co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine was dominated by worries about racism among home fans.
UEFA president Michel Platini, under pressure after boldly handing the tournament to the two countries, said players should let the referee handle racist abuse after some players indicated they would walk off the pitch if it occurred in matches.
The Polish and Ukrainian governments have worked hard to try to dispel any fears of racism but a BBC documentary suggested it was prevalent among certain fan groups.
World Cup runners-up Netherlands, who have a number of black players, open their Euro 2012 Group B campaign against Denmark in Ukraine's Kharkiv on Saturday.
Meanwhile fans who had gathered to watch England training on Friday (June 8) condemned any form of racist abuse.
"Sometimes supporters may think that racism chants or something and I think it is a really good idea to stop the match when that happens," one said.
Another added: "The problem is that it is always generated, but very small, a limited number of supporters, they are very loud so they are visible even if there is a very small number of them. I think it is bad. It has put a bad light on the whole supporters from Poland. Yeah, it is very bad."