Racism mars England’s 6-0 win
England manager Gareth Southgate said his side made a statement by deciding to complete a 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifying win over Bulgaria on Monday after the match was twice halted by racist chanting.
The visitors led 2-0 through early goals from Marcus Rashford and Ross Barkley when play was first stopped and an announcement made to supporters that the game could be suspended if offensive chanting continued.
Once restarted, England quickly made it 3-0 through Barkley before a second stoppage as Croatian referee Ivan Bebek held discussions with players and coaching staff from both sides.
Raheem Sterling then netted twice either side of half-time before Harry Kane rounded off the scoring to take England to the brink of qualification.
In a statement, The English Football Association said their players “were subjected to abhorrent racist chanting” and called on UEFA to investigate immediately.
Tyrone Mings was one of those targeted on his England debut. The Aston Villa defender believed that stopping the game did have the desired effect of reducing racist abuse in the second half.
A comprehensive victory was the perfect riposte for Southgate’s men to their shock 2-1 defeat at the Czech Republic on Friday and opens up a three-point lead at the top of Group A.
However, the focus was again on the stands as another England match blighted by racism from opposition fans.
After several English players suffered racist abuse in a qualifier away to Montenegro in March, Southgate had prepared his side to follow UEFA’s three-step protocol for reporting racist incidents that can lead to matches being abandoned.
On the field, Southgate’s decision to make five changes from the side beaten in Prague on Friday was fully vindicated.
Rashford was one of those recalled put his Manchester United woes behind him by smashing the opener into the roof of the net after just seven minutes before Barkley tapped home a second at the back post.
The first stage of UEFA’s protocol followed as the game was temporarily stopped and a warning played over the loudspeaker in both Bulgarian and English that the match could be suspended after monkey chants were aimed at England players.
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