Gareth Southgate praises England players after ‘unacceptable’ racism from Bulgaria fans

Gareth Southgate has hit out at the ‘unacceptable’ racism from Bulgaria supporters which marred England’s 6-0 victory in Sofia.

The Euro 2020 qualifier appeared in jeopardy as referee Ivan Bebek twice stopped the clash in the first half with the PA announcer warning Bulgaria fans over their chanting.

A large section of the Vasil Levski Stadium had already been shut off after racist incidents during Bulgaria’s recent games with with Kosovo and the Czech Republic.

England debutant Tyrone Mings and Raheem Sterling were both subject to racist chanting on Monday night and Southgate was involved in lengthy discussions with officials on the touchline as the match appeared in doubt.

‘I have to say that the officials were onto everything very quickly,’ the England manager told ITV Sport.

‘We reported everything immediately when we heard things. We had constant communication with the officials and referee and I was in contact with the players during the first half in particular and then again at half-time.

‘It’s an unacceptable situation. I think we’ve made two statements really by winning the game but also we have raised the awareness of everybody to the situation.

‘The game was stopped twice and I know for some people that won’t be enough.

‘But I think we as a group were on board with that process.’

An FA statement said: ‘The FA can confirm that England players were subjected to abhorrent racist chanting while playing in the EURO 2020 qualifier against Bulgaria.

‘This is unacceptable at any level of the game and our immediate focus is supporting the players and staff involved.

‘As we are sadly aware, this is not the first time our players have been subjected to this level of abuse and there is no place for this kind of behaviour in society, let alone in football.

‘We will be asking UEFA to investigate as a matter of urgency.’