England's national team crushed Bulgarian footballers in the 2020 European Championship qualifier on Monday. However, the match in Sofia is remembered not for the goals downpour (6:0), but for the behavior of local fans.
The fervent fans gathered at the "Levski" stadium seemed to have come not to support their team, but to condemn the black England footballers. Referees had to stop the game twice.
As soon as the ball touched "Manchester City" player Raheem Sterling, the Bulgarian stands started buzzing and waving with disrespectful expressions. Later, Bulgarians began showing various Nazi gestures, until finally the English couldn't bear it and asked the game referee, Croatian Ivan Bebek, to halt the match.
In the 28th minute, the referee stopped the match, scolded the organizers, and allowed the game to continue. However, after 15 minutes, the game was stopped again.
The stadium announcer also began to tame the aggressive youths, threatening that the game would be interrupted.
Bulgaria's team captain Ivelin Popov took action during the long break - he began to plead with the fans to stop waving racist expressions.
After the break, the closest fans in the stadium were no longer there, so the second half went smoothly. However, Bulgaria's team coach Krasimir Balakov had a different opinion, claiming that only the English had behaved improperly.
At the "Levski" stadium, hundreds of English fans watched the game and sent a message to the hosts: "Racists on fire. You know who you are, we know too."
UEFA has launched an investigation into these matches.
lrytas.lt
