LONDON (AFP) - The racist abuse targeting England's black players has brought about an official apology from the Spanish football federation, its English counterpart -- the Football Association (FA) -- revealed.
The FA said it had received a formal apology following the chants during the friendly international between the countries in Madrid on Wednesday.
The FA reported the abuse following the match, during which Ashley Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole were taunted with monkey' chants,' to European governing body UEFA and world body FIFA.
England's black under-21 players were subjected to similar abuse during their fixture the night before.
Jorge Arias, general secretary of the Spanish federation, condemned the behaviour of supporters in the letter and emphasised his country's stance against racism.
A statement on the FA website, www.thefa.com, said: "The FA welcomes the response and now looks forward to receiving details from FIFA on its investigation initiated yesterday (Thursday).
"There will be no further comment from the FA at this time."
11/19/2004 - 16:42 GMT - AFP