WE’LL WALK OFF Southgate has zero tolerance for racism
GARETH SOUTHGATE won’t hesitate to take his England stars off the pitch if they are subjected to racist abuse in Bulgaria.
FA security chiefs have been placed on high alert for the Euro qualifier in Sofia on October 14 after bigoted Bulgarian fans targeted players of Kosovo and the Czech Republic during games in the summer.
Spotters will be posted around the ground to look out for trouble, and Southgate insists that security staff have been fully briefed on the protocols put in place by UEFA to beat the bigots after Danny Rose was targeted by racists in Montenegro in March.
And the ultimate sanction is for the h game to be b abandoned. Southgate said: “We are very clear about this now – because I have to say it was a little less clear about what we should do in Montenegro.
“We’ve seen in the last few weeks a couple of the games that have been stopped in Italy and where the referee has made an announcement to the crowd.
“The next stage is that it would be stopped and the referee takes the players off the pitch. The third step would be an abandonment of the game.
“That is the process that is now there, and we are very clear across all of our staff about what would need to happen if there is any sign of racist abuse.
“We now have an official position to report something if we hear it.”
Next Monday’s game will be played in front of a reduced crowd after UEFA ordered the Bulgarian FA to close a 5,000-seat section of the 44,000-capacity stadium as punishment for the abuse meted out to players during the Kosovo and Czech Republic qualifiers.
Southgate revealed that his players will get a security briefing when they meet up at St George’s Park tomorrow.
He said: “It is important to pick it up with the players because we have had two home games since the Montenegro match and we didn’t think it was relevant.
“After the conversations we’ve had with people about this issue, it is key that the players know that we are now clear on what needs to happen.
“I think in Montenegro a couple of the players were aware of something in the first half – but lots of the others weren’t.
“Even at the end of the game, I was aware of what happened, but some other people on the bench didn’t hear it.
“We all hope that we’re not discussing this again at the end of the game in Sofia – but it’s important that our players are prepared if it were to happen.
“This is clearly a serious topic, so we’ve got to make sure that we give it the respect it deserves.”