Bulgaria has been ordered to play two matches behind closed doors, one suspended for two years, and fined £64,640 over the racist behaviour of fans during the European Qualifier against England.
The Bulgarian Football Union faced multiple charges after the scenes during England’s 6-0 victory in Sofia on October 14 – described in an FA statement as “abhorrent” – which almost saw an international team walk off the pitch, and not return, for the first time.
The match was stopped twice by Croatian referee Ivan Bebek after racist chanting by a section of home supporters.
The referee enforced the first step of UEFA’s three-step racism protocol after 28 minutes of the first half, which saw an appeal made via the public address for the abuse to stop.
Play resumed after a brief delay with England leading 2-0 at the time, but the game was again halted after the abuse resurfaced shortly after England went 3-0 up through Ross Barkley.
Sky Sports News reporter Rob Dorsett heard ‘clear monkey chants’ on at least six occasions in the first half which came from individual pockets of supporters – all inside a 10-minute period.
Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov, who criticised sections of the home support after the game, appeared to plead with fans at half-time in an effort to make the abuse stop.