The European Football governing body, UEFA has charged both the Bulgaria and England FAs following the ugly racism attack that occurred during the 2020 Euro qualifying game between both countries on Monday night.
The game which saw England defeating the Bulgarians 0-6, saw the result overshadowed by the ugly racial attack on England’s black players by some Bulgarian fans in the stand.
Monkey chants and Nazi salutes punctuated the match at the Vasil Levski National Stadium, during the game, as the game was halted twice as England players received racism abuse.
UK’s Evening standing reporting on Tuesday, stated that Uefa has confirmed that the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has been charged following home supporters’ “racist behaviour”, “throwing of objects” and “disruption of the national anthem” during the qualifier
Meanwhile, the English FA has been charged with “insufficient number of travelling stewards” and “disruption of the national anthem”.
According to Uefa’s statement, the case will be dealt with by the governing body’s control, ethics and disciplinary body, with the date of the meeting yet to be confirmed.
Stating further, the Evening Standard stated that an FA spokesperson from the side of England who spoke about the charges from UEFA, said: “We acknowledge the charges but will not be commenting further as it is an ongoing process.”
The first step of UEFA’s protocol on racial attack or abuse was implemented in the 28th minute of the game, as an announcement was made on the public address system, and there was another pause in play as half-time approached following more racist behaviour
Play resumed after widespread discussion and the departure of a group of individuals in the home end, and England – 4-0 up by half-time despite the abuse – showed character to play on and score two more goals in the second half.
On Tuesday, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin urged the “football family” to “wage war on the racists” following the abuse suffered by England’s players in Bulgaria.
Ceferin blamed a rise in nationalism across Europe for fuelling racism at matches and said the governing body was committed to eradicating the “disease” from football.
Shortly after Ceferin’s statement, the BFU announced the resignation of its president Borislav Mihailov.
Explaining the decision, the BFU said the current position was detrimental to Bulgarian football but suggested Mihailov could assist the governing body in a different capacity.