Tyrone Mings says his England debut was ‘slightly overshadowed’ after he was subject to racist abuse from Bulgaria fans in Sofia.
However, the Aston Villa defender believes England ‘showed a great response’ by continuing the game to record a dominant 6-0 win in Euro 2020 qualifying.
The 26-year-old was one of a number of players, including Raheem Sterling, who was targeted by sections of the home support at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.
TV cameras picked up Mings reporting the chants to an official during the first half, and the game was stopped twice as PA announcements warning that the match could be abandoned were read out.
"It was a great occasion, I made my debut, slightly overshadowed by a few disappointing chants,” Mings told ITV.
“It was quite clear to hear on the pitch but I think we showed a great response and showed a great togetherness and hopefully let football do the talking.”
As well as the PA announcements, a group of around fifty Bulgaria fans were ejected shortly before half-time. England’s players held discussions at the interval about whether to continue the game, eventually deciding to return to the field.
Some abuse continued into the second half, but the third step of Uefa’s protocol – abandoning the match – was never put into action.
"Yes absolutely,” said Mings, when asked whether he thought the protocol had helped. “I think it [stopping the game] was effective.
“There was an announcement so whatever the protocol was and the correct steps taken definitely helped. We made the decision at half time to come out and I felt it was the right decision.
"Everybody was consulted - us, management, staff players, we all made a decision that we were happy to go out."
