Bulgaria boss Krasimir Balakov insisted he did not hear any racist chanting from his nation’s supporters and slammed England fans for interrupting the Bulgaria national anthem in a staggering denial on Monday evening.
This is despite monkey noises aimed at England defender Tyrone Mings and forward Raheem Sterling being clearly heard at the ground and on television – to the extent where the game was twice brought to a halt.
Balakov told ITV: ‘I personally did not hear the chanting you are most probably referring to. I saw that the referee stopped the game.’
Bulgaria boss Krasimir Balakov insists he did not hear any racist chanting from his nation’s fans during Monday’s match
Before the match Gareth Southgate said he had spoken to his players about how they would react to any potential racist abuse
Balakov told ITV: ‘I personally did not hear the chanting you are most probably referring to. I saw that the referee stopped the game’
A fan holds up a No Respect jumper, a reference to UEFA’s Respect campaign which encourages equality in football
Fans in black wore clothes which had ‘ultras’ and ‘hooligans’ printed on them, before a mass walk-out before half-time
Hordes of Bulgarian fans in black hoodies and shirts which said ‘hooligans from Sofia’ left the stadium after warnings over their behaviour
Gareth Southgate and his players spoke to the referee about the offensive chants they heard from the stands
Self-described ‘hooligans from Sofia’ dressed in black and had their faces covered during the match
The events of England’s 6-0 win over Bulgaria on Monday night:
- The game was halted TWICE as home fans abuse black players, brandish ‘No Respect’ shirts and make Nazi salutes in planned racist onslaught
- Tyrone Mings reveals vile chants started before kick-off in Bulgaria
- Marcus Rashford praises ‘courage’ of Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov for appealing to fans at half-time to stop racist taunting of England players
- England boss Gareth Southgate considered taking his players off the pitch against Bulgaria as FA chairman Greg Clarke condemns racist taunting
- Ian Wright says England players taking action against racism made him ‘feel really good’
- Raheem Sterling calls out Bulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov for saying England have a bigger racism problem than his own country and posts funny Ainsley Harriott meme in response to Piers Morgan hailing his performance in face of vile racist abuse
- UEFA will use evidence from specialist ‘spotters’ in the crowd and TV footage to prosecute after Bulgarian fans’ appalling racist taunts
Balakov added: ‘But I also have to say the unacceptable behaviour was not only on behalf of the Bulgaria fans but also the England fans who were whistling and shouting during the Bulgaria national anthem and during the second half they used words against our fans which I find unacceptable.
‘To be honest this has not happened to us before. The disciplinary measures by UEFA were not because of racist chanting but because of a banner from an organisation which is not forbidden by Bulgarian law.
‘We have had this problem since England were going to come to Bulgaria. For three weeks I have heard anything else but football and I don’t think this is the proper manner to prepare and play a football game because over three weeks everybody was talking about one thing.
‘If this turns out to be true, we are truly sorry. The Bulgaria national team and the Bulgaria football union are working very hard and no one wants to see this.
‘But let me tell you this really has never happened before in our games up until now.
England’s Raheem Sterling was a target for much of the abuse with reporters inside the stadium hearing monkey noises and jeers directed at him
Players and manager Gareth Southgate gather around the match referees to alert them about the horrific abuse the black players were being subjected to
Gareth Southgate consoled England striker and goalscorer Marcus Rashford as he left the field after being substituted having previously been targeted with abuse
Rashford, who scored England’s opening goal with a fine finish, said he was ‘proud we rose above it’ and said it was not an incident that should happen in 2019
Raheem Sterling, who scored twice tonight, posted an Ainsley Harriott meme as he agreed with Piers Morgan that there is ‘no sweeter way’ to show up the Bulgarians than having a black England player ‘destroy their team with his sublime talent’
He also took aim at the Bulgaria coach who said England had a bigger racism problem than his own country
‘If something can be proven, then we are sorry but we cannot speak on behalf of some fans.’
England’s black players silenced racist fans in Bulgaria with a 6-0 rout after the match had to be halted twice by the referee.
Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling scored while Tyrone Mings enjoyed a fine debut in defence, despite all three being targeted by jeering, monkey chants and Nazi salutes from the home fans.
England all but ensured their qualification for Euro 2020 with a comprehensive 6-0 victory on Monday evening
England’s forward Harry Kane speaks with the referees during a temporary interruption in the first half of the qualifier
Bulgaria have previously been sanctioned by UEFA and they were ordered to leave 5,000 seats empty tonight as a punishment for previous abuse against Kosovo
Bulgarian fans with hoods and face masks, some of them with ‘hooligans’ printed on their shirts, head for the exits after the second stoppage
England fans responded to the racism with loud cheers for their players and a rousing rendition of the national anthem
A hooded Bulgaria fan watches on before a large group walked out en masse after the second stoppage in play in the first half
Before the match Gareth Southgate said he had spoken to his players about how they would react to any potential racist abuse
Gary Lineker praised Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov for pleading with the fans at half-time to stop with their abuse
England captain Harry Kane spoke to referee Ivan Bobek as game was stopped the first time
England and Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard tweeted an image of a black and white Three Lions crest, calling it a ‘shameful’ night
Despite the Bulgarian FA rubbishing Gareth Southgate’s concerns about racism before the Euro 2020 qualifier, it took just 27 minutes for official Ivan Bebek to stop the game for the first time, after Mings had alerted one of his assistants to the abuse.
The referee implemented the first stage of UEFA’s three-step protocol, involving a statement being read out over the PA system, warning supporters stop their behaviour.
There was later another stoppage moments before half-time, but England’s players insisted they wanted to finish the half.
Tyrone Mings (centre) making his debut for England, was the first player to report the abuse which led to the first stoppage
Tyrone Mings thanked the England fans for their support at the end of the match after being on the end of the horrific abuse
Tyrone Mings said he was ‘very proud’ to make his debut despite the ‘unfortunate incidents’
At the end of the match after England’s comfortable 6-0 win, manager Gareth Southgate headed to the England fans and applauded them