Beckham condemns racist
chants in Bratislava

England soccer captain David Beckham said he was happy with a 2-1 win over Slovakia on Saturday in their Euro 2004 qualifier, but he condemned the racist taunting of England's black players.

Beckham equalised in the 64th minute after the Slovaks had taken a surprise first-half lead on a waterlogged pitch.

Michael Owen grabbed a late winner but the match was marred by crowd trouble and racist chants.

Just before half-time hundreds of England fans were baton-charged by Slovak riot police and Slovakia supporters jeered at England's Emile Heskey and Ashley Cole.

Beckham acknowledged the violence from England fans, which came after two fans were shot the night before the match.

"The crowd trouble was one (problem), but the most important part was the racism directed towards our players. We're trying to kick that out of the game, but it seems to have come back in," he told journalists.

Beckham also took a swipe at the pitch, but said he was pleased with the result.

"We knew it was going to be a difficult game, with the pitch conditions. It's a great three points at the end of the day... It's amazing, really, the state of the pitch," he said.

"In the second half we came out and showed the character of the players and we got the three points."