Published 20:59 IST, October 15th 2019
Boris Johnson condemns racism by Bulgarian fans; urges UEFA for action
PM Boris Johnson tweeted in support of the England football team and urged UEFA to take swift action against racial abuses hurled in England vs Bulgaria game
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Borish Johnson on Tuesday condemned the racial comments by Bulgarian fans in the match between England and Bulgaria on Monday. PM Johnson, on Tuesday, tweeted in support of England coach Gareth Southgate and team for standing up against racial comments hurled by the Bulgarian fans at the Stadion Vasil Levski in Bulgaria. The match witnessed England thump Bulgaria by 6-0 courtesy of goals by Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane, Ross Barkley and Raheem Sterling. England players had earlier also stated that they would walk off the pitch if racial comments are hurled at them.
Match halted twice due to racial abuses
Johnson, who tweeted in support of England's national football team said that there was no place for racism and football and also urged UEFA to take strong and swift action against the issue. Due to the racial abuses hurled, the game had to be halted twice even before half time and an announcement was made urging the fans to not hurl any more racial abuses. The three-step UEFA protocol was followed and the referee had a discussion with the team's respective captains. Bulgaria's captain Ivelin Popov even went near the stands to urge the fans to stop the chants but failed to have an impact.
Turkey celebrates with military-style salute
The game between France and Turkey on Monday also witnessed some drama as Turkey held off France from qualifying for the Euro 2020. Turkey after scoring a late equalizer to hold off France celebrated the goal by performing a military-style salute as a tribute to the Turkey soldiers fighting against Kurds in Syria. UEFA has also instructed a probe in this issue as the body prohibits any political gestures on the field. Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov has asked the head of Bulgaria's Football Union to resign after England's football players were subject to multiple racist attacks during a UEFA Euro Qualifier match on Monday evening.
Updated 21:13 IST, October 15th 2019