The European Football Governing body, UEFA has slapped the Bulgarian BFU on its wrist, following a racist abuse towards black England players during their Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia.
The fine from UEFA was a paltry £65,000 fine for the ugly incident that sparked worldwide condemnation, and the call by the Bulgarian Government asking the Bulgarian BFU President, Borislav Mihaylov, and Bulgaria manager, Krasimir Balakov, to resign.
The Bulgarian BFU have also been ordered to play one match behind closed doors as part of the fine reportedly slammed on them.
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, saw the game halted twice as England players received racism abuse.
The Bulgarian BFU were hit with a two-game stadium ban but one of those games has been suspended for two years.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said after the match that the “football family and governments” needed to “wage war on the racists”.
Bulgaria have also been fined €10,000 for causing disturbance during the English national anthem, while the English FA received a €5,000 fine for disturbance travelling England fans caused during the Bulgaria national anthem.
The likes of Sterling and other players already welcomed some decisions taken by the Bulgarian Government, but I doubt if this fine coming from UEFA/FIFA will be welcomed by them as the issue of racism continue to take centre stage every weekend in leagues across Europe!