England manager Gareth Southgate alleges Danny Rose was subject to racist abuse as Three Lions thrash Montenegro

Gareth Southgate has alleged he heard racist taunts as England thrashed Montenegro 5-1 on home turf.

After falling behind to an early goal by Marko Vesovic, England responded in style as Michael Keane and Ross Barkley put them ahead by the half-time break.

Barkley struck again as Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane got in on the action to see home an emphatic Euro 2020 qualifying victory for the Three Lions.

But the aftermath was marred by allegations of racist abuse, which the England manager says he heard directed at Danny Rose during the match.

There is a suspicion Sterling was once again victim of abuse, as he celebrated in front of the home fans’ Ultras with a point to prove.

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Speaking to ITV after the match, Southgate said: “I definitely heard abuse on Danny Rose when he got booked at the end of the game.

“There is no doubt in my mind that happened and we will make sure that is reported officially, that is not acceptable.

“I am not sure yet (on Sterling), I have had a quick chat with Danny because I heard what happened there, I haven’t had chance to speak with Raheem yet, but whatever happened we will report.

“I don’t want to speculate but I know what I heard so as I say we will definitely deal with it in the right way and we have got to make sure we support our players.”

Sterling, meanwhile, called on stadiums bans to be doled out as punishment for any acts of racism.

The Manchester City star has spoken out about racism in recent months and, speaking after the match, called for stronger punishment for such incidents.

“It is a shame really because it was a massive team performance at a difficult ground, a difficult place to come,” he said.

“We knew how difficult it would be, we knew it would be hard at times but we stuck together as a team and there were some great performances in there today but then a couple of idiots, mind my language, but a couple of idiots ruin a great night.

“It is a shame we are talking about this to be honest with you, it is 2019 and I think there should be a real punishment for this, not just for the few people being banned.

“It needs to be a collective thing. This stadium holds 15,000 and I think the punishment should be that as a nation your fans are chanting racist abuse so I think it should be the whole stadium can’t watch it.

“Then when that ban is lifted your fans will think twice not to do anything silly like that because they all love football, they all want to be there to support their nation.”

Sterling also explained why he celebrated in the manner he did, with a missile thrown from the stands in his direction as a result, explaining that he is still trying to raise awareness of the issue.

“I just wanted to let them know that they need to tell me more than that we are black and what we resemble to affect us really,” he told BBC Radio 5Live.

“That was the message really, I was happy to score and give them something to talk about.

“It’s not just young black men, it is young kids growing up in diverse cities, it’s not just black kids I want to reach out to.

“England, we’ve got a diverse country, it’s 2019 as I keep saying and there’s lots of different places in our country, it’s just bringing awareness and letting people know that it’s new times, it’s different.

“The FA can only do so much, we’ve got to leave this to the people in charge to really try and make a proper stance on it.

“Banning one or two people isn’t going to change anything, even with our fans, I would say the exact same thing.

“The people in charge need to actually do it as a whole, the whole Montenegro fans, I am not the one who makes the rules but they have got to do something that makes a real stance.

“It has got to be something that is serious for them and makes them think twice about doing something like this again.”

Additional reporting by PA.