SM
Watford vs. Leeds: 7 hrs 10 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
BN
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Oct 14, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
EN

0-6

 
FT(HT: 0-4)
Rashford (7'), Barkley (20', 32'), Sterling (45', 69'), Kane (85')

England's qualifier in Bulgaria halted twice due to racist abuse

:Headline: England's qualifier in Bulgaria halted twice due to racist abuse: ID:375011: from db_amp
Play was twice halted during the first half in Sofia.

England's Euro 2020 qualifier against Bulgaria was marred by racist abuse on Monday night.

The build-up to the game had been dominated by fears that there could be incidents of racism and England staff had to alert match officials to it during the first half in Sofia.

The Croatian referee Ivan Bebek spoke to England captain Harry Kane and a stadium announcement, calling for the racist chanting to stop, was made over the public address system in the 28th minute.

The match was halted for a second time in the 43rd minute before resuming and reaching half-time, at which point the visitors led 4-0 thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Ross Barkley (two) and Raheem Sterling.

Referee Ivan Bebek spoke with England boss Gareth Southgate about the racist chanting (Nick Potts/PA)

England manager Gareth Southgate spoke to the fourth official with around five minutes of the regular 45 to go, while defender Tyrone Mings was seen asking an assistant referee, 'Did you hear that?' during the first half and Nazi salutes were seen among a section of the home fans.

Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov was in a heated debate with a section of home supporters near the tunnel as the rest of the players headed for the dressing rooms at half-time.

The stadium announcer said when the first chanting was reported: "This is an important stadium announcement, because of racist behaviour which is interfering with the game, the referee has indicated that he may have to suspend the match.

"Racism in football stadiums will not be tolerated. Please be in no doubt that the game will be suspended and may be abandoned if racist behaviour continues amongst spectators. Help everyone enjoy the game and say no to racism. Thank you."

The Levski Stadium was subject to a partial closure for this match after Bulgaria were sanctioned for racist chanting during qualifiers against Kosovo and the Czech Republic.

ITV pundit Ian Wright described it as a "great day" in trying to tackle racism.

He said: "It's a terrible day for the Bulgarian people and how they have been represented, it's a great day in respect of trying to tackle racism.

"We can see over in that stand, with those (anti-racism) banners, which mean nothing.

Ross Barkley celebrates scoring England's third goal of the game in Sofia (Nick Potts/PA)

"What we're seeing is a set of fans who do not care and need educating."

The former Arsenal and England striker continued: "As a black player, we've heard it for many years about walking off.

"But you do need your white players to do that for you, so you can go off together. When that can happen, when you can see how powerful that is, that will do something."

amp_article__375011 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-10-14 21:42:33:
html db last update - 2021-03-04 06:51:37 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Harry Kane

Click here for more stories about Bulgaria

Share this article now:
Read more about Harry Kane Football
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .