England stars booed by crowd of SCHOOLKIDS as they take the knee in anti-racism stance against Hungary

ENGLAND were stunned in Budapest after thousands of Hungarian kids booed them taking the knee.

After Dominik Szoboszlai’s penalty proved decisive, beaten Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate said: “I have no idea why people would boo that gesture. I am very surprised.”

England slumped to a first loss over 90 minutes in 18 months when  Szoboszlai slotted in after a ‘harsh’ penalty call.

But the Nations League clash —  played ‘behind closed doors’ due to racist and homophobic behaviour by Hungary supporters — was marred when young fans  in the 30,000 crowd jeered before kick-off, leaving Kick It Out chief Troy Townsend fuming.

Southgate said: “Very often, young people especially, they can’t know why they’re doing it.

“So they’re being influenced by older adults. That’s why we try and educate people.”

The Hungarian FA used a Uefa regulation to get around the fan ban, allowing under-14s to attend for free if accompanied by an adult.

And Europe football chiefs last night refused to comment on the boos at the Puskas Arena.

Townsend, father of former Three Lions winger Andros, tweeted: “The rule clearly confirms that there is no zero tolerance approach to racism.”

England’s Conor Coady said: “It’s massively disappointing. It’s not something you want to hear.”

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Uefa ordered Hungary to play three games behind closed doors after racist and homophobic incidents at last summer’s European Championship.

And the hosts were also serving a separate Fifa ban on home fans because of racist abuse of England players Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham in last September’s World Cup qualifier.

Southgate added on the noisy, hostile atmosphere when he said: “How that aligns with the ban   is difficult to understand.”

On the field, sub Reece James was penalised for a challenge on Zsolt Nagy, but VAR failed to overturn the soft penalty decision.

Southgate added: “The result hinges on a decision we think is harsh.

“The forward makes a meal of it but, away from home, sometimes you’re going to get those calls.”

Coady fumed at the 66th-minute penalty and said: “We were a little bit shocked at first because no one really appealed.”

England, who handed debuts to Jarrod Bowen and James Justin, wilted in humid conditions. They will look to respond in   Germany on Tuesday.

Joshua Kimmich’s 73rd-minute goal earned the Germans a 1-1 draw in Italy last night, cancelling out Lorenzo Pellegrini’s  opener in Bologna.