Marcus Rashford praises Bulgarian captain for his courageous stunt at half-time to stop racist chants by fans

Marcus Rashford praises Bulgarian captain for his courageous stunt at half-time to stop the racist chants by the fans during European qualifier.

England Vs Bulgaria was full of controversy as the three lions faced racist chants and Nazi salutes during the game last night. During the Euro 2020 qualifier match fans were seen making monkey chants whenever Tyrone Mings and Marcus Rashford were in possession of the ball.

England walked away twice from the pitch in protest to the racism they were facing on the field. Mings, who made his debut for Englan last night was the biggest victim of the disgraceful act done by the home fans.

Harry Kane even approached referee Ivan Bebek to inform him about the racial abuse his team was facing and in response, the first step of UEFA’s three-step racism protocol was then triggered at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia, as announcements were made to stop racist chants.

“Because of racist behaviour which is interfering with the game, the referee has indicated he may have to suspend the match.” the announcer said. “Please be in no doubt that the game may be suspended and abandoned if racist behaviour continues.”

Amidst all of this, Bulgaria’s captain Ivelin Popov further went to Bulgarian fans at the half-time to stop the racist chanting against the English teams. To this, Rashford has applauded the efforts of Popov on social media.

The English striker took on Twitter to express his concern against the social issue they faced last night, and on the other side made an optimistic comment on Popov’s effort.

Also been told what the Bulgaria captain did at half-time. To stand alone and do the right thing takes courage and acts like that shouldn’t go unnoticed. #NoToRacism

— MR14 (@MarcusRashford) October 14, 2019

Also read: Bulgaria manager Krasimir Balakov shockingly denies hearing any racism against England players!

Despite all of it, England had a phenomenal performance against Bulgaria, as the Three Lions won the match by 6-0 and secured three points. Rashford scored a splendid strike to give the opening to England in the 7th minute.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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