Southgate: England United in Approach to Racism

England’s manager, Gareth Southgate, says that his team have agreed that they will abandon any games in their upcoming European Qualifiers if their players are subjected to racism.

England will be following UEFA’s three-step protocol, which involves issuing warnings to the crowd before a match is called off.

Southgate’s announcement comes as the team’s upcoming Monday trip to Bulgaria is under intense scrutiny.

The Group A game is already being played partially behind closed doors after UEFA punished Bulgaria for fans displaying racism during matches against Czech Republic and Kosovo earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian FA president, Borislav Mihaylov, has slammed England for repeatedly voicing their racism concerns.

Mihaylov said: “We at the Bulgarian Football Union [BFU] feel that this fixation on potential incidents … does not do justice to the Bulgarian supporters, the general public, and to the extreme efforts and measures that the BFU has taken in order to ensure a fair and safe environment for what we believe to be a true footballing spectacle.”