The game was bogged down by monkey chants and Nazi salutes last night. England manager, Gareth Southgate, spoke to the referee twice to halt the game in order for a message to go out asking the abuse to stop.
England players were asked if they wanted to abandon the game, in line with Uefa’s three-step process. But players said they wanted to make it to half time, and went on to win the game 6-0.
The Bulgaria coach, Krasimir Balakov, said he didn’t hear the racist abuse. He reportedly later accused England football of having a bigger problem with racism than Bulgaria.
In response, English player Raheem Sterling tweeted, “Mmmmh … not sure about this one chief.”
Even so, Southgate lamented that his players were “hardened to racism,” due to experiences “in their own country.”
The England team brought out three new black players in the match: Tyrone Mings, Marcus Rashford and Sterling. Mings reported the abuse started during warm-up.
The Bulgaria captain, Ivelin Popov, was seen in confrontation with several Bulgaria fans during half time. Rashford remarked, “to stand alone and do the right thing takes courage and acts like that shouldn’t go unnoticed.”
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