Yaya Toure on Racism: England players should have walked off

Ivorian professional footballer Yaya Toure lashed out at Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) for not taking enough steps against racism. Toure said that they have been talking about racism but it is still continuing which shows FIFA don’t care about it. 

Toure wants players to make serious moves

The 36-year-old former Barcelona and Manchester City midfielder, talking about the recent incident where English players faced racism from Bulgarian fans, opined that they should have walked off the field. Toure said that the players have to make some serious moves otherwise it will continue. In the past, Toure has spoken about racism and the need to fight against it. In 2015, a day before his birthday, he said that it is his wish is we all stand together against racism.

Read: Football: Georgi Dermendzhiev Appointed As Bulgaria's New Head Coach

Game marred with controversy

On October 15, England’s game against Bulgaria in the EURO 2020 qualifiers got marred with controversy due to the racist acts of some of the Bulgarian fans. As per the three-step protocol, the referee halted at the 28th minute and it was followed with an announcement.

The game resumed but was halted again just before the half time since the England team manager Gareth Southgate complained about racist acts. England team decided to continue the game and they ended up winning it 6-0. England won the game but it was fraught with the danger of getting abandoned due to the three-step protocol of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which has been established to deal with incidents of a racist nature.

Read: UEFA: Bulgaria Vs England Racism Charges Set To Be Heard On October 28

Resignations and arrest

Bulgaria Prime Minister Boyko Borissov hit out at the Bulgarian FA which led to the resignation of Bulgarian Union Football President Borislav Mihailov. British Prime Minister condemned the racist act of the Bulgarian fans and asked for swift action from UEFA. Later, six persons were arrested in the case and Bulgaria Head Coach Krasmir Balakov also stepped out from his post.

Read: Euro 2020 Qualifiers, Bulgaria Vs England: Police Arrest 6 After Match

Read: Euro 2020 Qualifiers: Bulgarian Police Arrest Four People Over Racism

(With Inputs from Agencies)