Published 15:53 IST, October 15th 2019
Euro 2020 Qualifiers, Bulgaria vs England: Football marred with racism
Euro 2020 Qualifiers: England beat Bulgaria 6-0 as racial chants spoil the affair. The community erupts in support and demands a ban for the Bulgarian side.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
The Euro 2020 Qualifier on Monday, October 14 between Bulgaria and England was won by the latter 6-0. However, the match has now become famous for non-footballing reasons. The ongoing battle between the global football community and racism escalated as racist chants were yet again targetted towards some of the English players. The situation has heated up further after it has been widely reported in the British media that Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has called for the Bulgaria Football Union (BFU) President Borislav Mihaylov to resign.
The story so far
The game, which was held at the Bulgarian capital city's Stadion Vasil Levski, had to be halted twice by the referee in the first half itself after a host of vile chants were directed at the English players. Under a three-step protocol by UEFA, the game was halted where the referee had discussions with both the team's captains - England's Harry Kane and Bulgaria's Ivelin Popov along with other match officials. Popov, who tried appealing to the fans to stop the chants, failed to have much impact. A group of fans were then escorted out of the stadium to rectify the situation. Several English players reportedly complained to their manager, Gareth Southgate during the game. However, the Bulgarian manager Balakov denied such accusations, insisting the chants were not meant as abuse for the visiting team.
The footballing community poured in numbers in support of the English players, with many suggesting that the UEFA should ban Bulgaria from participating in the Euro 2020 qualifiers. The BFU and a number of Bulgarian clubs have been fined several times over the past few years as they were found guilty of racial abuse. The Bulgarian Sports Minister Krasen Kralev has stated that the Prime Minister had called him up and expressed his dismay about the incident. Government authorities are keen to strip off all financial incentives and relations with the BFU unless its President Borislav Mihaylov resigns. It is said that UEFA too has made a note of the situation and a strong reaction is expected from the organisation to address the situation soon.
Updated 17:43 IST, October 15th 2019