FIFA is investigating Rhian Brewster’s claim that England teammate Morgan Gibbs-White was racially abused by a Spanish opponent during the Under-17 World Cup final, football’s world governing body confirmed today.

Liverpool teenager Brewster made the allegation in a powerful interview with the Guardian last week. The 17-year-old Londoner told the newspaper he has either personally experienced racial abuse or witnessed it on a football pitch seven times, including five occasions in the last seven months.

Two of those alleged incidents, all against overseas opposition, took place on England duty, with the most recent being the abuse directed at Gibbs-White in October’s 5-2 victory over Spain in Kolkata.