British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday denounced "despicable" racist acts against England's black players in a Euro 2020 qualifying match in Sofia (6-0 for England), calling for "stiff punishments," said Downing Street. "The racism we saw and heard last night (Monday night) was despicable and has no place in football," said a Downing Street spokesman. "We support the federation's calls for an urgent investigation followed by stiff penalties," he added. "UEFA must look at the facts. "Football must be rid of racism and discrimination once and for all," he insisted.
English Federation calls for "urgent inquiry"
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 Vassil-Levski stadium was already partially closed to the match because of racist insults against Kosovo in June.
On Monday night, the English Federation had asked UEFA for an "urgent inquiry", recalling that "this is not the first time that [its] players are targeted by this type of insults".
The Bulgarian federation rules out the resignation of its president
The Bulgarian federation, meanwhile, ruled Tuesday the resignation of its president, implicated after these racist cries. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov had called for the "immediate resignation" of the president of the federation, Borislav Mihaylov, who left the stadium before the end of the match on Monday night, without denouncing the racist songs and Nazi gestures enamored the meeting. "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 break of all ties, including financial, with the Bulgarian Football Federation, following this "shameful defeat", until the resignation of Borislav Mihaylov, is effective. Since the latter's arrival at the head of the federation in 2005, Bulgaria has not qualified for any major tournament. But Hristo Zapryanov, the spokesperson of the Bulgarian Football Federation, said the latter was not responsible for the excesses and Borislav Mihaylov had no intention of resigning.