England football match halted twice amid racist behaviour

ENGLAND’S Euro 2020 qualifier in Bulgaria was halted twice last night following racist behaviour by home fans.

Gareth Southgate’s side faced abuse in Sofia, forcing the referee to initiate the new UEFA anti-racism protocol.

Players reported Bulgarian fans in the stands for making monkey noises, racist chants and doing Nazi salutes.

Referee Ivan Bebek stopped play in the 28th minute after players paused to look at the stands when they heard racist chants. The stadium announcer warned Bulgarian fans to stop the chants. He said: ‘Please be in no doubt that the game will be suspended and even abandoned. Let everyone enjoy the game. Say no to racism.’

Just before half time play was again suspended and players stood around the pitch. The match resumed two minutes later but any further racist incidents could have resulted in the fixture, which England won 6-0, being abandoned.

Bulgarian fans faced disciplinary procedures in this match for previous racism in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Last week, after England said they would leave the pitch if they were racially abused, Bulgaria’s Football Union president Borislav Mihaylov said the branding of Bulgarian fans as racist was ‘unjust’. In a letter to UEFA, Mr Mihaylov said: ‘The Bulgarian public has in no way committed any recent infringements that deserve it to be stereotyped as “racist” or “hostile”. We are aware of the recent problems with racist behaviour in all tiers of English club football and with England’s ongoing battle with hooliganism.’