Dhaka (AFP)
FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Thursday pleaded for a worldwide stadium ban for racist spectators three days after the Bulgaria-England match.
"This (racism) unfortunately exists in 2019" he acknowledged at a press conference in Dhaka (Indonesia).
On Monday, the Euro-2020 qualifying match between Bulgaria and England in Sofia was interrupted twice after racist acts targeting black players from the English team.
"If racist acts target footballers, we have to stop the match," said Infantino, "we can not let racist people win, football must continue and we must punish those people."
The Italian assured that it was now easy to identify the perpetrators of these acts, thanks to the cameras in the stadium. "They have to be arrested, expelled from the stadiums, no longer allowed to return, and legal proceedings must be launched against them," he said.
If a country banned a spectator because of racism, the FIFA president assured that the sanction will "be (it) extended all over the world" by the world body of football.
Six Bulgarians were indicted on the sidelines of the Bulgaria-England match, disputed Monday and enamelled by cries of monkeys and Nazi greetings, while three others are sought after.
An 18-year-old Bulgarian was indicted while four other supporters were fined and banned from stadium for two years.
Infantino on Tuesday condemned the incidents, denouncing a "disease that seems to worsen in some parts of the world" and prioritizing "the education of our young, our children as well as those who are a little older" to fight racism.
© 2019 AFP