MX23RW : Sunday, September 29 13:40:50| >> :600:993344:993344:
[monks data]
Bulgaria national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Oct 14, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
England national football team

0-6

FT(HT: 0-4)
Rashford (7'), Barkley (20', 32'), Sterling (45', 69'), Kane (85')

Gary Neville demands stronger action over "sickening" racist abuse

Gary Neville demands stronger action over
© Reuters
The punishment handed to Bulgaria over the racist abuse of England players has been criticised by anti-racism campaign groups.

Gary Neville believes it will take a team to walk off the pitch for a sea change to happen in the fight against racism, and believes England's players are brave enough to do it.

The Bulgarian federation was ordered to play one match behind closed doors, with a further match suspended for a period of two years, and fined just under £65,000 for the racist behaviour of their supporters during the Euro 2020 qualifier against England in Sofia on October 14.

England players and staff were subjected to monkey chanting, and some supporters in Bulgarian sections of the stadium could be seen making Nazi salutes.

European football's governing body UEFA has been widely criticised over the sanctions, which have been described as being too lenient.

Former England and Manchester United defender Neville, now a Sky Sports pundit, can see the issue coming to a head soon when a team decides it has had enough and leaves the pitch.

"Everybody would have supported the players and Gareth Southgate in walking off the pitch, but then what I would expect is that if they were punished for that, that other nations would support England and withdraw from the competition," he said.

"That's what is going to need to happen here – nations are going to need to take it into their own hands because the governing body are not dealing with it in a satisfactory manner.

"Some of the greatest changes that have been stimulated in society have been through individuals being brave, and we have got some brave, young individuals within that England squad who are not going to take it any more."

Neville says "significant pain" has to be inflicted on associations whose supporters are found guilty of racist behaviour.

He told Sky Sports News: "If you started to fine countries millions of pounds you would then start to see significant action.

"There needs to be significant pain, every act of racism should be punished heavily and essentially £65,000 and a couple of games (behind closed doors) isn't impacting it.

"I was aware of it in the 1980s, the bananas being thrown onto the pitch, the abuse that players like John Barnes used to receive playing for England, and it's despicable. And when you're still hearing it in 2019, it's sickening."

ID:376825: cacheID:376825:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4994:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Bulgaria's national stadium Vasil Levski pictured in October 2019
Read Next:
Bulgaria ordered to play behind closed doors after racist abuse
>
Read more about Gary Neville Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Rams
@
Bears
6pm
Eagles
@
Buccaneers
6pm
Steelers
@
Colts
6pm
Saints
@
Falcons
6pm
Broncos
@
Jets
6pm
Vikings
@
Packers
6pm
Bengals
@
Panthers
6pm
Jags
@
Texans
9.05pm
Patriots
@
49ers
9.05pm
Washington
@
Cardinals
9.25pm
Chiefs
@
Chargers
9.25pm
Browns
@
Raiders
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!