Bulgaria versus England game should have been abandoned, anti-racism body says

 

Anti-racism organisation, Kick It Out, has criticised European football’s governing body UEFA for failing to abandon Monday’s Euro 2020 qualifier in Bulgaria after England black players were subjected to monkey chants.

The game was twice halted in the first half, with the first being when England manager Gareth Southgate informed the UEFA delegate about incidents and a public announcement was made.

The abuse continued and the Group A match, which England went on to win 6-0, was again temporarily suspended by the referee under a three-step UEFA protocol for tackling abuse.

UEFA said it would announce possible disciplinary proceedings later on Tuesday or on Wednesday once it had received full reports from match officials.

Around 50 black-clad Bulgarian fans, some of whom were seen making Nazi salutes, left the stadium before half-time and the second half was completed without further stoppages.

Kick It Out said it was “sickened by the disgusting racist abuse” and suggested UEFA should have taken stronger action.

“We are encouraged that the protocol was initially enforced by the match officials, but UEFA must explain why players weren’t sent to the dressing room during Step Two, as is clearly stated in the rules.

“TV footage also clearly shows that racist abuse continued in the second half, so it is unacceptable that Step Three was not enforced.

This match should have been abandoned by the officials.

“It’s now time for UEFA to step up and show some leadership. For far too long, they have consistently failed to take effective action,” a statement read.

Read Also: Bulgaria FA Chief finally resigns after racist abuse

The first step of UEFA’s protocol was enacted after 28 minutes when England defender Tyrone Mings was subjected to abuse and an announcement was made calling on supporters to stop using racist chants.(Reuters/NAN)