England’s Sofia romp marred by racism

BULGARIA 0 ENGLAND 6

Gareth Southgate’s team stood firm in the face of sickening racism as England thrashed Bulgaria on a night of shame in Sofia.

The visitors took a giant stride towards Euro 2020 as they bounced back from Friday’s shock loss in the Czech Republic, yet this match will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Nazi salutes and racist chanting marred last night’s win in Bulgaria, where Marcus Rashford and Harry Kane goals complemented braces from Ross Barkley and Raheem Sterling as the players showed great dignity in finishing the match.

Few would have blamed Southgate’s side for walking off the field at the Vasil Levski National Stadium, where play was twice halted in the first half due to racism from home fans.

A stadium announcement in the 28th minute – the first step of the Uefa protocol explained to England’s players in-depth at the start of the international break – warned fans that the Group A encounter may be abandoned if they did not immediately halt racist behaviour.

Tyrone Mings, making his senior debut, appeared to be subject of some of the abuse and it looked like the second step would be invoked just before half-time, only for play to resume after a brief break.

A group of Bulgarian fans left the ground and captain Ivelin Popov spoke to some other supporters during a half-time break.

It is understood that various officials met at half-time and decided that the teams would walk off if racism reared its head again in the second period.

Sterling and Kane struck as the match was completed, but all the post-match talk will be about Bulgaria and the need for a fierce, firm reaction from Uefa.

Rashford wrote on Twitter: “Not an easy situation to play in and not one which should be happening in 2019. Proud we rose above it to take three points but this needs stamping out.

“Thankful to the brilliant England support. You got behind us in the most meaningful way possible tonight and we are all very grateful.

“Also been told what the Bulgaria captain did at half-time. To stand alone and do the right thing takes courage and acts like that shouldn’t go unnoticed. #NoToRacism”.