Ian Wright launched a scathing attack on UEFA after Gareth Southgate’s England players were subjected to racism during their Euro 2020 qualifier with Bulgaria.
The Three Lions ran riot in a 6-0 rout in Sofia but the match was completely overshadowed by shocking racist abuse from the stands at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.
Referee Ivan Bebek twice halted the match in the opening 45 minutes as the PA announcer warned Bulgaria fans over the chanting.
A large section of the stadium had already been closed after racist incidents during Bulgaria’s recent clashes with Kosovo and the Czech Republic.
FA statement on the racist abuse in Bulgaria
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.
Former England and Arsenal striker Wright was furious with UEFA’s apparent inability to deal with racism in the game
‘That says everything you need to know about UEFA,’ he said on ITV Sport‘s coverage.
‘We’re looking at a stadium where half of it’s closed with banners, that’s done nothing.
‘That’s the extent of what they are doing to tackle racism in this country. What we can see is there’s certain people there that have no respect.
‘At the end of the day, it’s showing UEFA up for what they are. They’re doing nowhere near enough, and I’m so proud that we’re doing what we’re doing at the moment.’
Gareth Southgate on the racist chanting
‘I have to say that the officials were onto everything very quickly,’ Southgate said after England’s win.
‘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.’
Wright added: ‘What you’ve got to understand now is you can feel physically sick.
‘You’ve been on a football pitch, you know what it’s like and you have to continue to play through that.
‘But you don’t now, and that’s what’s good. It’s a great day, whatever anyone says.
‘It’s a terrible day for Bulgarian people and how they’ve been represented, but it’s a great day with respect of trying to tackle racism.
‘You can see from that stand with those banners, which mean nothing.What we’re seeing is a set of fans that do not care and they need educating.
‘As a black player, we’ve heard it for many years about walking off. It’s something you do not want to do.
‘You need the white players to do that for you, so you can go off together because you are a team together.
‘When that can happen, and you see how powerful that is, you can do something.’
