• Uefa instruct officials to take firm action against racism
• Italy and Holland players visit Auschwitz-Birkenau
The Uefa president Michel Platini says Euro 2012 referees will stop matches if players suffer racist abuse from fans.
Platini said Uefa has empowered referees to "temporarily stop the game and finally cancel the game if this racism keeps rearing its head".
Concern about racism at the tournament has been increasing, with Manchester City's Italy forward Mario Balotelli threatening to walk off in protest at any abuse.
However Platini said in those circumstances Balotelli would be booked, with Uefa relying on referees to take action: "It is not the player, Mr Balotelli, who is in charge of the situation."
Uefa's chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, said all the teams had been made aware of the process they should follow if one of their players is abused. "Things are clear. Referees have a protocol so they know what they have to do, and the match director, who is responsible for each match, knows what has to be done on the field of play."
Balotelli and his Italy teammates made solemn visits to the former Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps on Wednesday, accompanied by Holocaust survivors.
Italy's players, their coach Cesare Prandelli and his staff toured the site escorted by three Italian survivors: 81-year-old Samuel Modiano, 84-year-old Hanna Weiss and Piero Terracina.
Italy's defender Giorgio Chiellini said: "The image that stuck in my eyes was when they showed us their tattoos, the numbers on their arms. And the way they told us about being taken away from their families right there on those tracks. I think their stories touched all of our hearts."
The Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon placed a bouquet of white, red and green flowers at an execution wall, and each player placed a candle.
"Our generations are fortunate in that we've only seen these horrors in films and books," Chiellini said. "But having it right in front of your eyes, where it happened, and hearing from those who lived through it, is really incredible.
"I told my brother, 'If you come to see a match, you should go to the camps, too'. It leaves you with emotions that are difficult to forget."
As the Italians left, the Holland squad arrived for a similar visit.
Modiano, who was 13 when he was deported from the island of Rhodes, said: "I hope this serves a purpose for them, and that they'll return home with a bit more baggage, and that they'll understand there's no difference between one person and another. We're all equal. There are no different races.
"Maybe they've seen the documentaries, but it's completely different when you actually come to the place and see it with your own eyes and hear some witness accounts, because there are not many of us alive today.
"For years, we've been asking ourselves why we survived and others didn't. Maybe God chose some of us to tell our stories so this never happens again. That is our mission." Read More
انسخ الكود التالى و ضعه فى موقعك او مدونتك.
