Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas offers support to Danny Rose following racist abuse

Danny Rose appears to make a monkey gesture as he leaves the pitch in response to taunts from Serbia fans (GETTY IMAGES)

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas has offered his support to Danny Rose after the winger suffered apparent racist abuse whilst playing for England Under-21s on Tuesday night.

Rose is currently on loan at Sunderland but Villas-Boas confirmed he had spoken to the 22-year-old, who was sent off after the final whistle in the Euro 2013 play-off in Serbia.

He said: "It's extremely difficult for Danny. He was disappointed by that happening, by the situation which he had to live with, the atmosphere he was confronted with.

"I told Daniel I support him completely in this situation. He felt abused and this is obviously a serious matter which at the moment is in the hands of both FAs."

Both the Football Association and their Serbian counterparts have been charged by UEFA following the fracas at the end of the match and Villas-Boas believes more has to be done to stamp racial abuse out of the game.

"We have spoken so much about this kind of situation, it's almost like it hasn't put a break into the amount of events that we have to deal with on a weekly basis, which is, in the end, very very sad," he said.

"I think the governing bodies have to act maybe quicker, a more aggressive way so we can act in some way to serve as more of an example in this massive sport, and hopefully equal the Olympics in a certain way where these kind of events don't seem to happen."

PA