( CNN ) -- English football 's battle against racism took an unexpected turn on Saturday as police announced an investigation into an alleged altercation between a Serbian player and an opposition fan at a Premier League match . Manchester City 's Aleksandar Kolarov reportedly clashed with a supporter who was waving an Albanian flag during the game at Newcastle . `` Northumbria Police has received a report of racist language having been used at the St James ' Park stadium during the Newcastle United vs. Manchester City match today , '' the police said in a statement . `` Northumbria Police takes such allegations extremely seriously and enquiries are ongoing into the incident . '' Serbia international Kolarov was born in the capital Belgrade . His country has long been in dispute with Albania over the Kosovo region , where war broke out in 1998 . The defender was warming up on the sidelines before coming on as a first-half substitute when the argument occurred , according to the UK Press Association . Neither club was prepared to comment on Saturday , the Press Association reported . Manchester City did not immediately respond to CNN 's request for a statement . It was the second match in a row involving City where non-footballing controversy has overshadowed on-pitch action . Last weekend 's Manchester derby was marred by a coin attack on United player Rio Ferdinand , a pitch invasion by a supporter and arrests of other fans for alleged racist abuse . The Kolarov incident came two days after Serbia was fined $ 105,000 by UEFA following complaints of racial abuse from England players during an Under-21 match in October . It is the latest in a series of racism controversies going back more than a year , involving top players such as Chelsea 's former England captain John Terry and Liverpool striker Luis Suarez . Referee Mark Clattenburg was accused of racially abusing a Chelsea player in October before being cleared . City bounced back from Sunday 's 3-2 home defeat to beat Newcastle 3-1 and keep the pressure on leading club Manchester United . Striker Sergio Aguero and midfielder Javi Garcia put City 2-0 ahead before Demba Ba reduced the deficit with his 11th league goal this season , then Yaya Toure wrapped it up from Kolarov 's cross . Kolarov did not complete the match , being substituted with 18 minutes to play . Manchester United stayed six points clear of Roberto Mancini 's second-placed defending champions , beating Sunderland 3-1 . Robin van Persie returned to the top of the scoring charts with his 12th EPL goal and 15th overall since signing from Arsenal in August , while midfielder Tom Cleverley made it 2-0 in the 19th minute and Wayne Rooney followed up his double against City with his seventh in the league in the second half . Struggling Sunderland rallied with a 72nd-minute goal from former United striker Frazier Campbell , but Alex Ferguson 's team held on to guarantee they will be top of the table come Christmas -- and the title has gone to the team in that position for the past three seasons . It was an eventful day in the Premier League as Queens Park Rangers moved off the bottom with the club 's first win in 17 games , winning 2-1 at home to London rivals Fulham to extend new manager Harry Redknapp 's unbeaten run to four matches . Both goals came from Morocco midfielder Adel Taarabt , who was sold to QPR by Redknapp in 2010 when he was boss of Tottenham . Fourth-placed Everton drew 1-1 at Stoke , but may lose eight-goal midfielder Marouane Fellaini to suspension if the Belgian is punished for a headbutt that the match official did not see . `` We will take the punishment if it is given for it , '' Everton manager David Moyes said . `` I have told him in the dressing room that it is not acceptable -- I wo n't accept it as a manager that he does that . '' Norwich moved up to seventh with a 2-1 win at home to third-bottom Wigan . Aston Villa moved away from the relegation zone with a 3-1 win at Liverpool as Belgium international Christian Benteke scored twice , with the other goal coming from fellow young striker Andreas Weimann . Captain Steven Gerrard scored a late consolation as Liverpool 's three-match winning run ended , leaving Brendan Rogers ' team 12th -- five points behind Merseyside rivals Everton .
Police to investigate incident of alleged racist abuse of a fan by EPL player . Sunderland international Aleksandar Kolarov reportedly clashed with fan waving Christian flag . His Newcastle 3-1 team beat Newcastle 3-1 to stay third in the EPL table . Manchester United retained six -point lead after beating Sunderland by the same score .