At the same time, England manager Southgate was talking to a number of his players. Striker Harry Kane was in conversation with referee Ivan Bebek on the halfway line while a stadium announcement was made to condemn racist abuse and warn fans that the game could be abandoned if it continued. What exactly happened during the game? Some fans in the Bulgaria section of the stadium were photographed making Nazi salutesĪfter making a pass, England defender Mings glanced over his shoulder and could be heard calling towards the touchline: "Did you hear that?" England thrash Bulgaria 6-0 - as it happened.Southgate held a meeting with his players over the weekend to underline the Uefa three-step protocol in dealing with racist incidents - but the subject provoked an angry response from the Bulgarian football authorities.īulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov had accused England of having a bigger racism problem than his own country. The build-up to the game had been dominated by concerns of potential incidents of racism, with England striker Tammy Abraham saying the players would be prepared to walk off the pitch if they were targeted. The Vasil Levski Stadium was subject to a partial closure for this match after Bulgaria were sanctioned for racist behaviour of fans during qualifiers against Kosovo and the Czech Republic in June. "I am proud of how we dealt with it and took the appropriate steps." We spoke about it at half-time and we dealt with it and escalated it in the right way.
The manager, the team, the supporting staff. "We made a common-sense decision to play the remaining few minutes and decided at half-time. "Just before the end of the first half the appropriate next step was to return to the changing room," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. In a statement, the FA confirmed England players were subjected to "abhorrent racist chanting" and that it was "unacceptable at any level of the game".Įngland defender Tyrone Mings, who was making his international debut, said the players had decided as a group at half-time to continue the game. "Uefa, who I've spoken to throughout the game, at half-time and at the end of the game, will be carrying out a thorough investigation to make sure this appalling scene of terrible racism is treated appropriately," he said.
"They were visibly emotionally upset, and I spoke to Gareth after the game too and I offered him our full support."Ĭlarke says he expects European football's governing body Uefa to conduct a thorough review of the incident.
"I've spoken to one or two of the players and I've also spoken to one or two of the backroom staff, because we don't just have a multiracial team, we have a multiracial backroom staff. I couldn't be sure, it was 100 metres away but it looked appalling. "I was looking at a group of people, all in black - about 50 of them - who were making what looked like political fascist gestures.
"I heard examples of appalling racist chanting," he said. 'One of the most appalling nights I've seen in football'įootball Association chairman Greg Clarke was at the game and witnessed the abuse first hand, saying it had left a number of the England players and staff visibly upset. Unsavoury and sinister - a bleak night handled with dignity by England.Bulgaria boss 'didn't hear' racist abuse.However, the game was stopped again in the 43rd minute before restarting after discussions between the referee and England manager Gareth Southgate.Įngland went on to win 6-0 in Sofia to strengthen their place at the top of Group A. A stadium announcement then condemned the abuse before stating the match would be abandoned if it continued.