Bulgaria ordered to play one game behind closed doors over racism
Bulgaria have been ordered by Uefa to play their next competitive home game behind closed doors, with a further match suspended for two years after the racist chanting which marred the Euro 2020 qualifier with England this month.
The sanction was swiftly criticised by the anti-discrimination network Football Against Racism in Europe (Fare), which said it was disappointed Bulgaria had not been expelled from the competition after being found guilty of a third offence this year, while Kick It Out said Uefa had “missed an opportunity” to send the right message.
Boris Johnson was among those to demand sanctions from European football’s governing body after the incidents in Sofia during England’s 6-0 victory. They led to the game being halted twice in the first half after fans made monkey noises towards Tyrone Mings, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford. The sports minister, Nigel Adams, wrote to the Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, asking him to take “urgent action”, with Bulgaria already having been punished with a partial stadium ban for “racist incidents” during a previous qualifier.
Uefa confirmed on Tuesday that its control, ethics and disciplinary body had opted to impose a two-match stadium ban – one match longer than is usual for a second offence – as well as ordering the Bulgaria Football Union to pay a €75,000 fine. However, the second will be suspended during a probationary period of two years.
The sanction means Bulgaria’s qualifier against the Czech Republic on 17 November will be played behind closed doors, while they have also been ordered to display a banner with the words “No to Racism” with the Uefa logo.
It is understood Uefa only considered the match against England as a second offence following racist chanting during the home qualifier against Kosovo in June, even though Bulgaria were also sanctioned after a banner supporting Bulgarian national resistance was displayed during their match against the Czech Republic in Prague.
Guidelines state a second offence should usually carry a one-match stadium closure and a €50,000 fine, while it is estimated that the financial implications of a behind closed doors fixture could cost the BFU up to €500,000. Any subsequent offence can be punished with points being deducted or the offenders being thrown out of the competition – a fate that Fare argued should have applied in this case.
“We welcome the speed of this decision but we are disappointed that Bulgaria will not be expelled from the Euro 2020 qualifying competition given their previous record and obvious inability to deal with the problems they face,” Fare said in a statement.
“We think that the evidence and circumstances of this match would have justified European football being given a stronger signal on the need to tackle racism.”
Kick It Out said: “We are disheartened but not surprised to learn of
Uefa’s response to the racist abuse directed at England players. In our view, they have missed an opportunity to send an uncompromising message on racism and discrimination. The current sanctions, however ‘tough’ Uefa think they may be, are clearly not working and leave victims with little faith in their ability to prevent abusive behaviour.
“We feel Uefa’s entire disciplinary process in response to racial discrimination should be overhauled, and urge them to explain the decision-making process behind their sanctions for incidents of discrimination.”
The BFU was fined a further €10,000 for disturbances during a national anthem, with England ordered to pay €5,000 for the same offence.
A spokesman for the FA said: “We sincerely hope the disgraceful scenes in Sofia are never repeated. Our priority remains our players, support team and fans and we will do all we can to ensure they never have to endure such circumstances again.”
The BFU said that its work to combat racism in the past had helped them avoid more severe sanctions.
“Thanks to the diligent and competent work of the [BFU] administration and the union’s legal partners, as well as the persistent efforts to combat racism, xenophobia and tribal intolerance, the Bulgarian national team avoided more severe sanctions,” read a statement.
“We sincerely believe that in the future, Bulgarian football fans will prove with their behaviour that they have unjustifiably become the subject of accusations of lack of tolerance and respect for their opponents. This will be of benefit to all – for both football players and fans, as well as for Bulgaria’s international sporting prestige.”
Hartlepool have been charged by the FA following an alleged incident of racism during their National League match against Dover on 21 September. The match was held up for 10 minutes after abuse was directed at Dover’s Inih Effiong by a small number of fans.