Chris Hughton has called for “proper” punishment for Montenegro after England players suffered racial abuse.

The Albion manager has praised Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate and his young stars for the way they handled a torrid night in Podgorica.

But he says he would be surprised if what he feels are adequate penalties are handed out.

England full-back Danny Rose was too upset to talk to the media after being a target for monkey chants from some home fans late in England’s 5-1 win.

Raheem Sterling cupped his ears when celebrating the final goal and referred to “racists” in a post-match tweet.

And Callum Hudson-Odoi, on his first England start, said he heard “oooh aah aah” chants when he was near Rose.

Albion boss Hughton, one of an ever-smaller number of BAME managers in the English leagues after Chris Powell’s sacking by Southend yesterday, said he was not surprised by the abuse.

He told The Argus: “I think the behaviour of the England players and the England management was excellent.

“From everything that the players said – Sterling, Hudson-Odoi – to what the manager said.

“The manager thought very hard about it and was quite emotional after the game.

“All of those things are the correct things.

“The abuse that the players got wasn’t a surprise. It has happened before.

“I think people were talking about the possibility of it even before the game. When it happened, it wasn’t that big a surprise to me. The surprise you want now is for the correct authorities to clamp down on it properly, not give out easy fines.

“The only way you can really punish the perpetrators for me are by very heavy fines or make them play in empty stadiums.

“It has to be something that is a deterrent and that hasn’t been happening.”

Hughton was pleased England highlighted the issue after the match.

He added: “Credit to the England camp. What they could have done is certainly not put up any of the black players for interviews afterwards. That wasn’t the case.

“They are very young – Sterling and particularly Hudson-Odoi, even younger.

“And I thought Gareth Southgate spoke very well.

“When you consider this was Hudson-Odoi’s first international game, to be the subject of abuse in his first game.

“He played well, made one of the goals and then for a lot of his game to be remembered for the chanting and abuse the black players got is very – I don’t even know if unfair is the word.

“What he would have wanted to do was come away from that stadium on a high that he has made his England debut, got people thinking really well of him, made one of the goals.

“Unfortunately he comes away from that with most of the press being about the abuse that took place.”