Sofia: England manager Gareth Southgate said his side made a statement by deciding to complete a 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifying win over Bulgaria 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. “We know it is an unacceptable situation,” Southgate told British broadcaster ITV. “I think we’ve managed to make 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 were as a group on board with that process.”
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. (AFP)
