Gareth Southgate has admitted England must get their own house in order after becoming embroiled in a racism row with Bulgaria.
England's Euro 2020 qualifier with Czech Republic on Friday night is in danger of being overshadowed after Bulgaria FA president Borislav Mikhailov launched a remarkable attack on England.
Mikhailov has written to UEFA and accused the FA of peddling “racist stereotypes” about Bulgaria and also claimed it was “offensive” for Tammy Abraham to suggest England players should walk off if they are abused in Sofia on Monday night.
England boss Southgate even pointed towards last month’s National League game at Hartlepool when players were racially abused amid ugly scenes.
Southgate said: “I can totally understand why the Bulgarian president feels.
"So, if I was him, and I was only reading those quotes and not knowing the context of why the things were said and the responses were said, then I would feel probably as he does.
“We are not trying to create a situation at all, far from it. We’re all hoping that over the next 72 hours, we’re just talking about two football matches.
“I think both countries would have a strong desire for that and I have to say again, we don’t look at other countries in a way that we don’t shine a mirror on our own.
“What happened in Hartlepool a couple of weeks ago was probably worse than things I’ve seen or heard about in many other countries in the world. So, I think we have to be very careful in how we cover everything.”
England star Raheem Sterling admitted the players did not know about UEFA’s three step protocol when Danny Rose was abused in Montenegro in March but insists now they have to give that process a chance before thinking about walking off in protest.
Sterling said: “As a player, you know, with the situation that happened in Montenegro, I don’t think, that as a team, we were quite prepared and knowing that there was a protocol in place.
“We had a meeting as a group and Gareth [Southgate] sat us down and explained UEFA’s protocol and now, as players, we’ve got to give UEFA a chance to take that responsibility on board and deal with it.
"But, yes, I have got full faith in UEFA.”
