Bulgaria CHARGED by UEFA for racist behaviour during clash with England

Bulgaria have been charged by UEFA after their fans racially abused England players during their Euro 2020 qualifier on Monday while the Three Lions also face punishment for disrupting the hosts’ national anthem and failing to take enough stewards.

The match in Sofia was halted twice as England’s black players were subjected to shocking racist chants and monkey noises from the home supporters.

UEFA have now opened disciplinary proceedings against Bulgaria for ‘racist behaviour, throwing of objects, disruption of national anthem and replays on giant screen’ while they have also charged England too.

A fan holds up a No Respect jumper, rubbishing UEFA’s Respect campaign for equality

England’s Raheem Sterling, who scored twice on Monday, was a target for much of the abuse

England have also been charged by UEFA though for failing to take enough stewards with them

Charges against the Three Lions are ‘disruption of national anthem’ and ‘insufficient number of travelling stewards’.

The case will now be given to UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body with the date of their meeting yet to be confirmed.

Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling scored while Tyrone Mings enjoyed a fine debut in defence, despite all three being the subject of jeering, monkey chants and Nazi salutes from the home fans.

After the Bulgarian FA rubbished Gareth Southgate’s concerns about racism beforehand, it took only 30 minutes for official Ivan Bebel to stop the game after being alerted by Mings about the abuse.

The referee implemented the first of UEFA’s three-step protocol, involving a statement being read out over the PA system requesting supporters stop their behaviour.

There was later another stoppage moments before half-time, but the referees and players decided to play on for the rest of the half in spite of the ugly chanting.

Southgate’s side went on to convincingly win 6-0 with Ross Barkley and Sterling both scoring braces with Harry Kane and Rashford also finding the back of the net. 

It remains to be seen how severe the punishment will be but, in September 2011, the Bulgarian Football Union was fined a painfully low £34,250 by UEFA after home supporters berated Ashley Young, Ashley Cole and Theo Walcott with monkey chants. 

It comes after the president of the Bulgarian Football Association resigned from his position after the country’s prime minister demanded he step down, announcing that the government would freeze all relations with the organisation until Borislav Mihaylov was gone.

Fans in black wore clothes which had ‘ultras’ and ‘hooligans’ printed on them at the stadium

Hordes of Bulgarian fans in black hoodies and shirts which said ‘hooligans from Sofia’

Players and manager Gareth Southgate gather around the match referees to discuss the issue

The Bulgarian FA’s offices were also raided by 30 uniformed officers from the country’s State Security Council on Tuesday with sources close to the issue saying officers were searching for documents related to some Bulgarian referees. 

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin spoke out on Tuesday, urging the ‘football family’ to ‘wage war on the racists’. Ceferin provided a robust response to the racism in Sofia in a statement of his own.

He blamed a rise in nationalism across Europe for fuelling racism at matches and said the governing body was committed to eradicating the ‘disease’ from football.

‘Believe me, UEFA is committed to doing everything it can to eliminate this disease from football. We cannot afford to be content with this, we must always strive to strengthen our resolve.

‘More broadly, the football family – everyone from administrators to players, coaches and fans – needs to work with governments and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to wage war on the racists and to marginalise their abhorrent views to the fringes of society.

‘Football associations themselves cannot solve this problem. Governments too need to do more in this area.’ 

Back in the UK, British PM Boris Johnson condemned the racism as ‘vile’ and called on UEFA to conduct a swift investigation with tough penalties to follow, Downing Street said.