Sofia (AFP)
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov on Tuesday called for the "immediate resignation" of his football federation president, Borislav Mihaylov, after the racist screaming on Monday disrupted the Euro-2020 qualifier against Bulgaria and England.
"It is unacceptable that Bulgaria, one of the most tolerant countries in the world is associated with xenophobia, while people of different ethnicities and religions live together in peace," wrote on his Facebook page the leader of the government following this meeting lost by his country (0-6).
He ordered the termination of all ties, including financial, with the Bulgarian Football Federation, following this "shameful defeat", until the resignation of Mr. Mihaylov, is effective. Since the latter's arrival at the head of the federation in 2005, Bulgaria has not qualified for any major tournament.
On Monday, Mr Mihaylov had not reacted to the defeat, nor denounced the racist songs or the Nazi gestures which had enamored the meeting, leaving the stadium before the end of the match.
A group of fans from the Vassil-Levski Stadium in Sofia verbally attacked England's black players, defenseman Tyrone Mings and strikers Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling.
The English Federation will ask UEFA for an "urgent inquiry", recalling that "this is not the first time that [its] players are targeted by this type of insult".
The Vassil-Levski stadium was already partially closed to the match because of racist insults against Kosovo in June.
© 2019 AFP