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By , and | The Football Association has found no evidence of alleged racist chanting about Rio and Anton Ferdinand during England’s World Cup qualifier in San Marino last month.

The European anti-racism body Football Against Racism in Europe (Fare) complained to Fifa after reports of offensive songs by England supporters during the 8-0 win in Serravalle on March 22.

However, while it does not dispute the reports, the FA has failed to find any proof.

Scroll down for video Accused: England supporters have been reported for chants about the Ferdinand brothers – THERE IS NO SUGGESTION THAT THOSE PICTURED WERE INVOLVED The FA statement at the time The FA takes all incidents and allegations of racism extremely seriously.

In San Marino, we had FA security officers monitoring the English supporters in the stadium.

This includes recorded video footage.

We also worked closely with UK Police in advance of and on the night of the game.

While we have no reason to dispute the media reports which are without doubt made for the right reasons of fighting racism, at this time we have not found any recorded evidence of the specific discriminatory chanting referring to Rio and Anton Ferdinand and the vile ‘bonfire’ song.

We will of course continue to review all of our recorded footage.

We recognise the importance of FARE’s responsibility to report any incidents to FIFA.

We will liaise with FIFA and work with them to assist any investigation.

Should evidence of any racial chanting be found, we would expect action to be taken against any individuals.

The FA would terminate englandfans membership of any guilty members, while we would expect banning orders to be issued by the courts as a minimum penalty.

We do not want supporters who chant vile or racist abuse following the England team.

The FA will continue to work closely with Kick it Out and FARE to ensure we do all we can to eradicate racism from football.

We fully recognise that we must continue to address any issues that arise involving our own supporters in the same manner we expect other nations to do so.

We should also make clear that in addition to the officially ticketed englandfans in San Marino, there was also a large number of non-members who did not receive tickets through the FA.

As is normal practice for England senior away fixtures, the FA had full-time staff and security managing the collection of tickets for the games in San Marino and Montenegro.

We also made specific arrangements in Montenegro for official supporters to be issued with wristbands on collection of their tickets.

The FA has a stringent approach to ticketing and security, working closely with UK Police and other UK agencies.

We will continue to take every possible measure to ensure our supporters conduct themselves appropriately, as most have over the past decade.

However, we will not accept any racist chanting and we also call on those attending England matches at home and abroad to stop the ‘No Surrender’ chanting during the singing of the national anthem, both before and during games.

We have made significant progress following the hooliganism that blighted the national team in 1998 and 2000.

We must continue to maintain this hard work.

‘We’ve been asked to supply our submission to Fifa by Tuesday, which we will do,’ said FA Managing Director of Club England Adrian Bevington.

‘We have gone through all of the video evidence that our security team recorded on the evening of the game.

‘I do want to make clear that while the journalists who have reported this have done so in good faith, they clearly have heard chanting of a particular nature, and we’re not disputing that, but we haven’t been able to identify any of that from the recorded evidence that we’ve gone through.’ Fare, who did not have their own observers at the match, have collated the evidence on the basis of ‘hearsay’, according to the Football Supporters Federation.

Having been selected for an England squad for the first time since June 2011 for the Brazil 2014 qualifying double-header with San Marino and Montenegro, Ferdinand withdrew after telling Roy Hodgson he had to follow a pre-planned programme of treatment on his back trouble.

He then attracted ridicule by flying to Qatar to appear as a pundit for the match on the Al-Jazeera television channel.

It was widely reported the morning after the game that England fans had sung derogatory songs about Rio and his brother Anton, with the FA promising to investigate the claims.

Ferdinand said on Twitter at the time: ‘You expect and accept banter from fans on the terraces as it’s part of what makes the game great, but racism is not banter and from your own fans.

WOW.

‘Always a small minority who ruin it for others.’ He added: ‘Let’s not jump to conclusions and assume though as it might just have been banter.

We’ll see after the investigation.’ The FA issued a statement confirming they had launched an investigation and would review video footage taken by their officials.

They also promised to ban any England fan found guilty of racist abuse and vowed to ‘do all we can to eradicate racism from football’.

And the FA also issued a strong call for an end to the ‘No Surrender’ chants.

The statement read: ‘We will not accept any racist chanting and we also call on those attending England matches at home and abroad to stop the “No Surrender” chanting during the singing of the national anthem, both before and during games.’ The prospect of Fifa sanctions was then raised after Fare flagged up to world football’s governing body the vile songs which suggested the pair be burned on a bonfire.

The chant in San Marino was: ‘Build a bonfire, build a bonfire, put Rio on the top, put Anton in the middle, then burn the f****** lot.’ Football Supporters Federation chief executive Kevin Miles, who was at the game, said: Leaping to formal complaint on the basis of second-hand and hearsay information without engaging with supporters organisations who were present or the FA is not an approach designed to create the best possible outcome.

The Football Supporters Federation stand firmly against any manifestations of racism within football.

On this occasion, I personally have not heard any of the anti-Rio Ferdinand sentiment being expressed in a way that could be construed as racist.

Anger about Rio Ferdinand’s absence from the squad and presence in Dubai in an Al Jazeera studio was strongly felt and clearly expressed.

But I heard no racist content.

If there were songs sung with racist undertones, then that is a matter for concern.

But even then the response needs to be measured, proportionate and constructive.

Kick It Out chairman Lord Ouseley today called at the time on the FA to take a stance on the ‘vile’ and ‘abusive’ chants by England fans aimed at the Ferdinands.

It has been suggested the song had racist overtones because Anton Ferdinand was the target of racist abuse from former England captain John Terry.

Abuse: England supporters chanted that Rio (above) and Anton Ferdinand (below left) should be ‘burned’ Who are FARE? Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) is an international network of groups active in over 40 countries.

Their aim is to help support and coordinate efforts across borders and strengthen activity at national level.

According to their mission statement: We want to see the beautiful game played without discrimination and used as a social tool to unite communities, overcome exclusion and create social change.

‘Our focus is on tackling racism of all kinds, homophobia, and to empower minorities and women to realise their personal and collective potential.’ The general objectives of the FARE network are: To promote a commitment to fight discrimination at all levels of football across Europe in stadiums, on the pitch, in administration, in coaching and sport education and through the media Use the appeal of football to tackle societal discrimination To foster networking and exchange of good practice transnationally To undertake activities to capacity build and empower marginalized and discriminated groups, in particular young people, migrants, ethnic minorities, members of the LGBT communities and women.

Where do they get their money from? Funding has come from the European Commission, UEFA and smaller bodies such as Stand Up Speak Up, a campaign launched by Thierry Henry and Nike to fight racism.

Did FARE have anyone at the match? No.

They operate as a conduit for complaints of racism.

So why are they getting involved? Despite having no direct experience of the chanting, FARE claim they are duty bound to lodge a complaint after collating evidence sent to them and after studying media reports of the match.

And why do they think the chant was racist? That is far from clear.

The bonfire song is sung at football stadiums across Britain without any suggestions of racism.

Some suggest the inclusion of Anton Ferdinand as well as his brother Rio has turned the song into a racist attack.

FARE have talked only of an undercurrent of race .

Others point to connotations of the Ku Klux Klan.

What happens next? FIFA will assess the complaint next week.

If the allegations are proved it is possible, but unlikely, that England could end up being forced to play their next match behind closed doors.

Hungary and Bulgaria played in empty stadiums as a result of FIFA punishments.

Ouseley told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘Whether it’s racist or not, it’s certainly unacceptable.

It’s vile and it shouldn’t be part of sport.

Something needs to be done about it.

‘These are the supporters of the England national team who are travelling abroad and singing songs like that.

What messages does it send out about the type of people we are and who we represent? ‘The Football Association should be taking a stance on this about the people it wants supporting the England team, the image it wants to send abroad.

‘I’ve already contacted the chairman of the Football Association and said this has to be looked at, investigated and dealt with.

Do you want to be having an army of fans who call themselves the England fans travelling abroad, being abusive to their own players like that, or indeed other people? ‘FIFA will determine (whether it is racist) but clearly we can take a stance on that.

We have policies on anti-racism, homophobia and all other forms of unacceptable behaviour.

Why are we so quiet about it?’ FIFA said in a statement: ‘We can confirm that FIFA has been contacted by FARE regarding the FIFA World Cup qualifier match between San Marino and England last Friday.

‘FIFA will now analyse the content of the documents and next steps will be determined in due course.’ The ultimate sanction, if FIFA take action against England, is playing a World Cup qualifier behind closed doors.

FARE, headed by Piara Powar, did not have observers at the game as it was not expected to be ‘high risk’, but were supplied with information about the chants by people who were and they have decided to act.

The organisation is a pan-European network that aims to rid racism from football.

They also reported racist or xenophobic incidents at Croatia v Serbia and Poland v Ukraine, matches where members were present.

The FA did not know an official complaint had been made when Sportsmail enquired but they are aware of the songs.

English fans also sang about the IRA and ‘German bombers’ during the World Cup qualifier but FARE made it clear the Ferdinand chanting was the reason FIFA had been notified.

A FARE spokeswoman said: ‘It refers to the racist abuse Rio Ferdinand received, along with his brother Anton.

‘We don’t make the judgement.

We send a report to FIFA but in the end its their decision whether they open proceedings or not.

And whether they issue a fine or not.’ An FA spokesman said: ‘We have not been notified on this matter and until we get a full report it would not be appropriate to say anything.’ Powar told Sportsmail : It’s not really the sort of thing we are generally attuned to looking at fans abusing players of their own country who may not have been picked.

‘Nevertheless if it happens at a game, even if the focus of the abuse isn t there it’s still happening.

One of the things we want to underline straight off is that sometimes racism doesn t only take the form of monkey chants or bananas being thrown.

Sometimes there are things that are more subtle at play.

In the end we are not responsible for making a decision on whether England fans are guilty of racism here but we do have a duty to report things that are said to us because individuals have reported them as racist or xenophobic within the context.’ Pulled out: Man United defender Ferdinand was called up but withdrew from Roy Hodgson’s squad He added: If someone says to us, We think this is a big issue , and there doesn t seem to be malicious intent from their perspective then we are obliged to report it.

‘We have people who look at this stuff and they have a fairly clear idea of the standards required by governing bodies.

‘It’s then put to them and it’s their process.

In this case it’s FIFA’s process.

They see whether the evidence hits the standard to take forward a prosecution.

‘FIFA, in the last couple of incidents they ve dealt with, have shown a stronger side.

They banned Hungary and Bulgaria from playing with fans last Friday.

Forced them to play behind closed doors.

‘That’s quite rare to have a major tournament qualifier behind closed doors.

The last two incidents we reported FIFA showed a very strong hand.’ FARE feel the use of the You know what you are chant also has a racial element, given the history of the chant in the Terry case.

Peter Herbert, chairman of the Society for Black Lawyers, insists the bonfire chant does have racist overtones, adding: We re uncovering a hard core of racist fans out there and it doesn t take very much to trigger their abuse.

Some England fans, in that sense, would claim the Ku Klux Klan are not racist.

I think anybody with any sense and understanding of how racism operates will see that this is clearly racially motivated and is directed at him.

It would not have been said if it had been a white footballer in the same situation.