Bulgaria manager Krasimir Balakov shockingly denies hearing any racism against England players during their Euro 2020 qualifier match last night.
The Bulgaria vs England match was marred with episodes of vile racism from fans. The match was stopped twice last night and came very close to being abandoned altogether. The stadium was filled with boos, monkey chants and Neo-Nazi salutes. However, Bulgarian manager denied hearing any of them.
Also read: Raheem Sterling responds on social media after England players suffer racist abuse
England Manager Gareth Southgate, captain Harry Kane dealt with the situation with utmost grace, demanding action from the UEFA. FA Chairman Greg Clarke echoed the same views and Tyrone Mings, also handled himself very professionally.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said about the Bulgarian camp. They were too busy denying the accusations of wrongdoing rather than taking the criticism on the chin and tackling the issue head on.
Bulgaria manager Krasimir Balakov shockingly denies hearing any racism against England players!
“I personally did not hear the chanting you are most probably referring to. I saw that the referee stopped the game,” Balakov told ITV.
“But I also have to say the unacceptable behaviour was not only on behalf of the Bulgaria fans.
“But also the England fans who were whistling and shouting during the Bulgaria national anthem and during the second half they used words against our fans which I find unacceptable.”
“To be honest this has not happened to us before. The disciplinary measures by UEFA were not because of racist chanting but because of a banner from an organisation which is not forbidden by Bulgarian law.
“We have had this problem since England were going to come to Bulgaria. For three weeks I have heard anything else but football and I don’t think this is the proper manner to prepare and play a football game because over three weeks everybody was talking about one thing.
“If this turns out to be true, we are truly sorry. The Bulgaria national team and the Bulgaria football union are working very hard and no one wants to see this.
“But let me tell you this really has never happened before in our games up until now.”
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