BULGARIA have been handed a pathetic two match stadium ban for the racism that marred their Euro 2020 qualifier with England.
Despite Uefa launching an urgent probe into the shocking scenes that saw fans in the Vasil Levski Stadium warned the match would be abandoned if the racist chants and jeers continued, Euro chiefs have slapped Bulgaria’s wrists.
Raheem Sterling and debut-making Tyrone Mings were among the players targeted during the 6-0 win that saw Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate ask his players if they wanted to continue the game.
English players also came close to walking off but fought on to teach the racists a lesson.
The Three Lions players stopped playing after Mings made an official complaint to the assistant referee and captain Harry Kane with 28 minutes played in Sofia.
Angrily turning to the linesman, 26-year-old Mings said: "Hey, did you hear that?"
Kane then went to Croatian referee Ivan Bebek with play stopped for six minutes as an announcement went out around the ground.
Following Uefa protocol, the referee informed Italian Uefa delegate Danilo Filacchione before the announcement, which told fans to stop.
Southgate could be heard saying to the Uefa official: "It's continuing."
FA chairman Greg Clarke spoke to the players before urging action by Uefa.
Yet once again Euro football bosses will stand accused of paying lip service to the anti-racism cause by their punishments.
Bulgaria were charged with racist behaviour, throwing objects, disrupting the national anthem and showing replays on the giant screen during the game.
There even reports that stewards took off their bibs and entered the crowd as they targeted the Three Lions aces throughout the first half.
England eventually won 6-0 in Sofia, taking a major step towards qualification for Euro 2020, but not before players were forced to stop playing twice in the first half.
But while Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin insisted in the aftermath that his organisation was “committed to doing everything it can to eliminate this disease from football” that message did not get through to the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) that heard the case over two days.
Instead, Uefa announced that Bulgaria should play their next two home senior competitive games behind closed doors.
But the second of those games was a suspended punishment, only to be enacted if there is further racism in the next two years.
Bulgaria were also fined a total of just £73,000 – £64,600 for the racism – and ordered to display Uefa’s “NO TO RACISM” campaign banner in the stadium at their next two home games.
The FA were fined £4,300 after England fans booed the Bulgarian anthem. A second charge of not sending a sufficient number of stewards will be dealt with on November 21.
Piara Powar, the executive director of the Fare network which works to combat racism and discrimination in football across Europe, felt Bulgaria should have been disqualified from the competition.
"We welcome the speed of this decision, but we are disappointed that Bulgaria will not be expelled from the Euro 2020 qualifying competition given their previous record, and obvious inability to deal with the problems they face," he said.
"We think that the evidence and circumstances of this match would have justified European football being given a stronger signal on the need to tackle racism.
"Obtaining justice for racist acts is not easy in any setting, it is clear that football is no exception.
"We will be in touch with UEFA to explore options and maintain that Bulgaria and others in the same situation fundamentally reappraise how they deal with racism."
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