FA issues statement after video emerges of England under 16s players fighting

The FA issues a statement after a video emerges of England under 16s players fighting, doing the rounds on social media.

According to reports, the incident took place in a hotel, and is said to have happened when the squad were on international duty in Turkey back in October 2025.

It sees the victim, who was laid on a bed on his phone, end up being pinned down by the throat by the instigator, who tried to snatch his phone.

The victim tries to free himself, kicking him off the bed before the fighting continues after the victim stands up on the bed confronting the aggressor.

The fight moves off the bed, the victim finds himself in the corner the room, they tussle, the aggressor tries to get the victim in a headlock.

After more pushing and pulling, it moves back to the bed, the aggressor pulling the victim’s shirt, the other teammates, still in their training kit, running around the room, moving out of their way, others still filming. One called to “f*** him up”, another told to “shut the door”.

Daily Mail Sport said that it all started when “one of the players had been teased for having a Nokia mobile phone”.

A spokesperson for the Football Association said, to various media outlets including The Sun: “We were made aware of an internal matter during an MU16s camp in October 2025.

“This was quickly resolved at the time.”

Social media users gave their reaction as the FA issues statement after a video emerges of England under 16s players fighting…

@ojbsports: England’s underage team fighting while away on international duty, with teammates standing around filming it instead of stopping it. A pretty embarrassing look for the future of the national setup.

@triffic_stuff_: This is absolutely disgraceful footage coming out of an England youth team on national duty. In a hotel room, players turn on one of their own in what looks on its face like straight-up bullying. One lad is pinned, wrestled and slammed while the rest of the squad stands around laughing and filming instead of stepping in. This is not just lads blowing off steam or a normal clash. It is players in full England gear behaving like this while on duty for their country. It looks horrendous and reflects terribly on the whole setup. Someone should have intervened immediately. There is no excuse. And who thought it was a good idea to leak this footage online for the world to see? Where is the FA statement? Where is the investigation or any context at all? The silence so far only makes it worse. England football needs to explain exactly what happened here right now. This damages the badge and the next generation. Completely unacceptable.

 

The FA say a viral video of England under-16 players scuffling was caused by an “internal matter” which was “quickly resolved”.
The footage comes from a training camp in Turkey in late 2025 and has led to strong fan backlash online.https://t.co/7bPv6YywK7

— Emma Smith (@emmasmithjourno) July 23, 2026

 

@stevensallis:
This makes me incredibly sad
Really genuinely sad.
The emotions running through me right now are raw.
WTF are these lads doing!
Why is no one stopping it?
Why are they filming it ?
Why do they not see the seriousness of the consequences?
Thats why I feel sad 😢

@Dmmanz_: The amount of them saying “f*ck him up” is incredibly concerning. None of them should play for England again. That’s meant to be your teammate on the pitch and you’re calling for him to be battered. Sad look on the English youth set up.

@nocontextfm1: The amount of them recording it and not stepping in. Awful.

@nozumishawolfie: Sums up the problems with the world now. Instead of breaking it up they have to get out their phones and record it.

@coyijoe: The team mates doing nothing are the most shameful here. Everyone involved in this should be replaced with players who would take the opportunity with both hands and understand what it means.

@MillieReddUTDx: Getting a chance that most boys would kill for and doing this is crazy

@tymoodie02: The boy was just chilling. What a bully! I bet he wouldn’t do that to someone his own size.

@Mitchperry14: A typical young lad in England will have around 0.0016% chance (about 1 in 62,500) of representing England at this level. What a waste of an opportunity.

@greigewins1: These boys have got the opportunity kids can only dream of and they decide to behave like this while on international duty. As for the teammates filming instead of stopping it what on earth are they thinking.

@Alf_25_WHU: Genuinely what the fuck are you doing lads?