MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 11:27:37| >> :600:2091654:2091654:
[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')

Bulgaria boss Krasimir Balakov steps down after racist incidents

Bulgaria boss Krasimir Balakov steps down after racist incidents
© Reuters
England's black players were targeted by monkey chanting in Monday night's match, which Balakov said he had not heard.

Krasimir Balakov has quit as Bulgaria coach in the wake of the 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifying defeat to England which was marred by racist abuse.

England’s black players were targeted by monkey chanting in Monday night’s match, which Balakov said he had not heard.

He later issued a statement apologising to the England players and to anyone offended by the abusive chanting.

England manager Gareth Southgate talks to the referee during the Bulgaria v England match in Sofia
England manager Gareth Southgate talks to the referee during the Bulgaria v England match in Sofia (Nick Potts/PA)

A spokesman for the Bulgarian Football Union confirmed to the PA news agency on Friday afternoon that Balakov, who featured for his country in their run to the World Cup semi-finals in 1994, had tendered his resignation.

“The performance of Bulgaria’s men’s national team in recent months has been described as unsatisfactory, which is why the national coach Krasimir Balakov resigned,” the BFU said in a statement.

“I am no longer a national team coach and I wish success to the next coach. At the moment, the situation is not rosy,” Balakov said, in quotes reported by sportal.bg.

“I’m a professional and I know there are times like this in my life. I will look for my next chance. I will rest now.”

Borislav Mihaylov resigned as president of the BFU on Tuesday, and later that day the association was charged over the racist behaviour of its fans against England by UEFA, a case which will be heard on October 28.

The BFU announced on Friday that Mihail Kasabov had taken the presidency on a temporary basis, after vice-presidents Yordan Lechkov and Atanas Furnadzhiev had declined to take it on.

Kasabov will now need to organise an extraordinary congress to elect a new executive committee, the BFU statement said.

Five more men were arrested on Friday over the events of Monday night.

Individuals who have been arrested over the racist behaviour which marred England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria
Individuals who have been arrested over the racist behaviour which marred England’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Bulgaria (Handout)

They were detained at the First District police station in Sofia while a further five were searched at a different precinct in the Bulgarian capital, taking the total number identified to 16, a spokeswoman for the ministry of the interior told the PA news agency.

Six supporters were arrested on Wednesday, with four already having been banned from attending any sporting event for the next two years and fined 1,000 lev (around £440). One individual was due to attend a pre-trial hearing on Friday and could be remanded in custody.

The ministry spokeswoman said the search to identify further individuals continues.

The referee initiated the first step of UEFA’s anti-racism protocol just before the half-hour mark by asking for a public address announcement in the stadium ordering the racist behaviour to stop.

ID:375410: cacheID:375410:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7102:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Read more about Krasimir Balakov Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Cyprus Cyprus00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Norway Norway00000
Q Scotland flag Scotland00000
Q Spain Spain00000

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France00000
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar00000
3 Greece Greece00000
Q Netherlands Netherlands00000
5 Ireland Rep. Ireland00000

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England00000
Q Italy Italy00000
3 Malta flag Malta00000
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia00000
5 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Armenia Armenia00000
Q Croatia Croatia00000
3 Latvia Latvia00000
Q Turkey Turkey00000
5 Wales flag Wales00000

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania00000
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands00000
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova00000
5 Poland Poland00000

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria00000
2 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan00000
Q Belgium Belgium00000
4 Estonia Estonia00000
5 Sweden Sweden00000

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bulgaria Bulgaria00000
Q Hungary Hungary00000
3 Lithuania Lithuania00000
4 Montenegro Montenegro00000
Q Serbia Serbia00000

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark00000
2 Finland Finland00000
3 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan00000
4 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland00000
5 San Marino flag San Marino00000
Q Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Andorra flag Andorra00000
2 Belarus Belarus00000
3 Israel Israel00000
4 Kosovo flag Kosovo00000
Q Romania Romania00000
Q Switzerland Switzerland00000

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina00000
2 Iceland Iceland00000
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein00000
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg00000
Q Portugal Portugal00000
Q Slovakia Slovakia00000


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!