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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
GIUSEPPE MURO

Bulgaria hit with stadium ban and fined £65,000 by Uefa following racist abuse of England players

Bulgaria have been fined £65,000 by Uefa and ordered to play one match behind closed doors for the racist abuse England players suffered in Sofia last month.

England’s Euro 2020 qualifier on October 15 was marred by racism and had to be stopped twice.

Uefa were under scrutiny to hand out tough sanctions but the punishment has raised questions about whether the punishment is strong enough.

Bulgaria have been hit with a two-game stadium ban but one of those games has been suspended for two years. The Bulgarian Football Union has also been fined €75,000 for the racist behaviour of its supporters and the throwing of objects.

Bulgaria already had a partial stadium closure for the England match, which the Three Lions won 6-0, because of previous racist behaviour.

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said after the match that the "football family and governments" needed to "wage war on the racists".

Bulgaria fans made Nazi salutes and monkey chants. After the game, both the president of the Bulgaria Football Union, Borislav Mihaylov, and Bulgaria manager, Krasimir Balakov, resigned.

Bulgaria have also been fined €10,000 for causing disturbance during the English national anthem.

The FA have been fined €5,000 for disturbance travelling England fans caused during the Bulgaria national anthem.

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