England stand tall against the racists
Heroes threaten walk-off after suffering horrific abuse from Bulgarian thugs
ENGLAND stars last night took a stand against racist Bulgarian thugs by threatening to walk off the pitch after suffering vile abuse.
The match was twice halted amid the hatred and Nazi salutes. Shaken players considered not returning after half-time, but came out to win 6-0.
ENGLAND stars endured a cauldron of hate last night as black players were yet again targeted by terrace racists.
But this time they fought back and were on the verge of walking off the pitch with team-mates – risking forfeiting the match – after Bulgarian fans subjected them to monkey chants and Nazi salutes.
And the furious 3,800 England supporters in the Sofia’s Vasil Levski Stadium gave them their full support – cheering an announcement from the loudspeaker warning home fans about their disgusting actions.
Some Bulgarian supporters dressed in black were ejected from the stands amid the chaos.
At half-time, England players were so shaken by the barrage of abuse they were on the verge of not returning. But after discussions they decided to come out and win the game to silence the haters – which they did with a resounding 6-0 scoreline. But that came after two stoppages in the first half to warn locals about the racism.
Bulgarian midfielder Ivelin Popov even went over to his own supporters to plead with them to stop, but to no avail.
England striker Marcus Rashford paid tribute to Popov.
And he said: “Not an easy situation to play in and not one which should be happening in 2019. Proud we rose above it to take the three points, but this needs stamping out.”
Fan Carol Perrin, 54, a nurse from Stockton-onTees, Co Durham, said of the potential walkout on the pitch: “I think that there comes a time when you have to make a stand. Nothing really
FEAR Masked local fan
happens in terms of changing the fans’ behaviour. This way you get the message across.
“It is about a principle, and if you are black player, you have to put yourself in their shoes. Imagine how must they feel in this position? I believe the rest of the team should support them.” Another supporter, called Kevin, added: “It is the right thing
to do. You should do that even if you are on the verge of qualifying and you are 4-0 up with two minutes to go. I back them as well, and would have backed them if they had walked off ”
I have been covering England for almost 25 years with the Mirror. But the sight of our players stopping a game over racism must surely mark one of the saddest days in the history of our national game.
What sparked the initial suspension of play on 25 minutes appeared to be a right-wing salute aimed at Manchester City star Raheem Sterling.
He made it clear after earlier shameful scenes in Montenegro that black players would not tolerate abuse and that he and his England team-mates would not hesitate to make a stand.
The fact they had to halt the game at all in 2019 brings shame to a sport which has struggled to deal with the dark spectre of racism for so many years. Sterling and Aston Villa player Tyrone Mings bore the brunt the targets of the hate.
Captain Harry Kane stopped the game after 25 minutes when the first wave of racist bile came billowing down from the stands.
The stadium announcer said: “Racism will not be tolerated and the game will be abandoned if the racism continues.”
The match was stopped again on 43 minutes, over apparent gestures from the stands. When Sterling scored his second of two goals, England fans chanted: “Who puts the ball in the racists’ net?”
UEFA had ordered 5,000 seats at Sofia’s 46,340-capacity arena to be closed off at the match after race offences at games against Kosovo and the Czech Republic.