By PAUL JIGGINS
AS a lifelong Millwall fan I am no stranger to witnessing violence and hostility inside football grounds.
Growing up, I seemed to watch all my football on the terraces through barbed-wire fences.
But last night’s sickening scenes in Serbia totally eclipsed anything I’ve ever seen before.
England’s Young Lions deserved to be celebrating long into the night after clinching an outstanding, battling 1-0 victory in hostile territory to qualify for Euro 2013.
Instead, they were left mentally and physically scarred by the sort of violence and abuse that should have been stamped out of world football years ago.
From the stands I witnessed — and heard — morons hurling monkey chants at England’s black stars.
One the pitch I saw Serbian players lashing out at our youngsters as they tried to deal with defeat on their own soil.
I then watched in disbelief as the Serb bench joined in the battle, wantonly laying into members of boss Stuart Pearce’s coaching staff.
And somehow these gut-wrenching scenes, this senselessness, primitiveness — this anarchic hatred — was made all the worse because it happened last night.
In 2012. In an age when we all thought we had put this nonsense long behind us.
I have been fortunate to cover England Under-21 fixtures all over Europe in the past two years and, thankfully, none had ever been like this.
These matches are usually family affairs.
All ‘kids for a quid’ and face painting.
However, arriving in this remote town 120 miles south of the capital Belgrade, you could sense this was going to be different.
Not many families here, just shaven-headed throwbacks with knuckles dragging on the floor.
When the England players came out for their pre-match warm up, they jeered the black players more than the other Young Lions as they trotted up and down the touchline.
In the first half we heard the first monkey chant as Marvin Sordell came to the near touchline to collect the ball.
The Bolton striker’s claims he was racially abused at Millwall the other week have been queried by the Lions and local police officers.
There was no doubt about it last night, though.
It was as clear as the bright flares that were being thrown on to the pitch by the home fans, forcing UEFA to make an announcement over the PA system that they would stop the game if “pyrotechnics” continued to be thrown.
It’s amazing how the game’s governing body is quick to issue warnings about flares but racism is another matter.
There were fears this would happen last night after events the last time the Young Lions faced the Serbs.
That was at the 2007 European Championships in Holland where UEFA fined Serbia a pathetic £16,500 for its fans racially abusing Nedum Onuoha.
Last night showed that, 5½ years on, nothing has changed in this part of the world.
After half-time it was Danny Rose’s turn to get racial abuse.
Sunderland’s Rose also went down clutching his ear at one point as he appeared to get hit by a missile thrown from the crowd.
That was nothing to the barrage of coins, lighters, rocks and even a SEAT Jack Butland had thrown at him in the England goal.
At one point the Birmingham keeper picked up a rock that had been hurled at him to show ref Huseyin Gocek — and the Turkish whistler ordered the Team GB star to get back in his area and stop moaning.
Gocek’s poor performance was capped by his decision to send off Rose for kicking the ball away after the final whistle.
Then we had more disgraceful scenes as the Serbian players, who could not take losing in front of their own fans, rounded on England, swinging punches and aiming kicks at them.
As Pearce’s coaching staff rushed on to try to stop the fighting, their Serb rivals ran on, intent on joining in.
I saw goalkeeping coach Martin Thomas butted by a man named locally as Serbia’s conditioning coach Andrija Milutinovic.
And Pearce’s No 2 Steve Wigley was kicked and punched as he tried to get back to the sanctuary of the dressing room.
And all the riot officers who flanked the pitch did nothing. As Rose was led off, he gave the home fans a thumbs-up and made a monkey gesture as his anger boiled over.
Pearce praised his players and staff for their dignity.
The big question now is: What will UEFA do about it?
