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Davo99

Well-Known Member
Dec 2, 2006
4,063
5,827

Bulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov 'didn't hear' racist abuse in England loss


Bulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov says he did not hear any racist chanting during his side's 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifier defeat by England on Monday.


Bulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov said he did not hear any racist chanting during his side's 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifier defeat by England on Monday.

Play was halted twice in the first half because of abuse from the stands and England players had the option to walk off the pitch, but chose to continue.
Balakov said he would be "truly sorry if it did turn out to be true" but said there had been no such problems before.

"I personally did not hear the chanting," Balakov said.

"I saw the referee stopped the game but I also have to say the behaviour was also not only on behalf of the Bulgarian fans but also the English fans, who were whistling and shouting during the Bulgarian national anthem.

"During the second half they used words against our fans which I find unacceptable."


The Vasil Levski Stadium was subject to a partial closure for this match after Bulgaria were sanctioned for racist behaviour during qualifiers against Kosovo and the Czech Republic.

"This has not happened to us before," said Balakov, whose translator added that the disciplinary measures imposed on Bulgaria by Uefa were not because of racist chanting but "because of a banner of an organisation that is not forbidden by Bulgarian law".

"We've had this problem ever since England were about to come to Bulgaria and all I've heard for three weeks is people talking about anything else but football. I don't think this was the proper manner to prepare and play a football game.

"If this turns out to be true we are truly sorry and we as the Bulgarian Football Union and the Bulgaria national team are working very hard."

Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov had been seen talking to a group of Bulgaria supporters at half-time, prompting England striker Marcus Rashford to praise his "courage".

Balakov says he was unaware Popov spoke to some fans at half-time, adding: "It is probably because the fans were unhappy with the way the team was performing."



Wow, this guy is unreal.
 

Col_M

Pointing out the Obvious
Feb 28, 2012
22,639
45,684
Could we set up like this?

Kane a bit deeper with Lucas and Son in place of Rashford and Sterling.

Dele playing the Barkley role
Winks is Winks and then Ndom/GLC next to him

only if we can play Bulgaria each week.
 

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,392

Bulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov 'didn't hear' racist abuse in England loss


Bulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov says he did not hear any racist chanting during his side's 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifier defeat by England on Monday.


Bulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov said he did not hear any racist chanting during his side's 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifier defeat by England on Monday.

Play was halted twice in the first half because of abuse from the stands and England players had the option to walk off the pitch, but chose to continue.
Balakov said he would be "truly sorry if it did turn out to be true" but said there had been no such problems before.

"I personally did not hear the chanting," Balakov said.

"I saw the referee stopped the game but I also have to say the behaviour was also not only on behalf of the Bulgarian fans but also the English fans, who were whistling and shouting during the Bulgarian national anthem.

"During the second half they used words against our fans which I find unacceptable."


The Vasil Levski Stadium was subject to a partial closure for this match after Bulgaria were sanctioned for racist behaviour during qualifiers against Kosovo and the Czech Republic.

"This has not happened to us before," said Balakov, whose translator added that the disciplinary measures imposed on Bulgaria by Uefa were not because of racist chanting but "because of a banner of an organisation that is not forbidden by Bulgarian law".

"We've had this problem ever since England were about to come to Bulgaria and all I've heard for three weeks is people talking about anything else but football. I don't think this was the proper manner to prepare and play a football game.

"If this turns out to be true we are truly sorry and we as the Bulgarian Football Union and the Bulgaria national team are working very hard."

Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov had been seen talking to a group of Bulgaria supporters at half-time, prompting England striker Marcus Rashford to praise his "courage".

Balakov says he was unaware Popov spoke to some fans at half-time, adding: "It is probably because the fans were unhappy with the way the team was performing."



Wow, this guy is unreal.


He's obviously been to The Arsene Wenger School of Selective Sensory Impairment.
 

wirE

I'm a well-known member
Sep 27, 2005
4,676
5,582

Bulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov 'didn't hear' racist abuse in England loss


Bulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov says he did not hear any racist chanting during his side's 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifier defeat by England on Monday.


Bulgaria coach Krasimir Balakov said he did not hear any racist chanting during his side's 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifier defeat by England on Monday.

Play was halted twice in the first half because of abuse from the stands and England players had the option to walk off the pitch, but chose to continue.
Balakov said he would be "truly sorry if it did turn out to be true" but said there had been no such problems before.

"I personally did not hear the chanting," Balakov said.

"I saw the referee stopped the game but I also have to say the behaviour was also not only on behalf of the Bulgarian fans but also the English fans, who were whistling and shouting during the Bulgarian national anthem.

"During the second half they used words against our fans which I find unacceptable."


The Vasil Levski Stadium was subject to a partial closure for this match after Bulgaria were sanctioned for racist behaviour during qualifiers against Kosovo and the Czech Republic.

"This has not happened to us before," said Balakov, whose translator added that the disciplinary measures imposed on Bulgaria by Uefa were not because of racist chanting but "because of a banner of an organisation that is not forbidden by Bulgarian law".

"We've had this problem ever since England were about to come to Bulgaria and all I've heard for three weeks is people talking about anything else but football. I don't think this was the proper manner to prepare and play a football game.

"If this turns out to be true we are truly sorry and we as the Bulgarian Football Union and the Bulgaria national team are working very hard."

Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov had been seen talking to a group of Bulgaria supporters at half-time, prompting England striker Marcus Rashford to praise his "courage".

Balakov says he was unaware Popov spoke to some fans at half-time, adding: "It is probably because the fans were unhappy with the way the team was performing."



Wow, this guy is unreal.


Ignorant. Hope they never get to play with attendances, ever
 

teok

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2011
10,837
33,609
Ming's says it was happening during the warm up.

“I heard it before I even got to the other side of the pitch for the warm up,” he said.

“We then spoke about it when we came in after the warm up and, obviously, I don’t need to spell it out.

“I think everybody heard the chants, but we stood together and we made certain decisions.

“Just before half-time we were contemplating coming off the pitch because that was the next step after a stadium announcement but there were a couple of minutes to go to half-time.

“So we thought we’d play the couple of minutes, go into half-time and talk about it then which we did and we made a collective decision.

“Everyone was happy to continue, everyone was happy to see if things improved in the second half and I think it was important that we allowed the correct protocol to be followed and things were better in the second half.”
 

Spurs 1961

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
6,665
8,739
Well done to the way the England team and manager handled things. Very poor the way the higher authorities have handled everything and now they are clearly in the spotlight but no doubt they will wriggle out as usual
 

Rob

The Boss
Admin
Jun 8, 2003
28,014
65,116
Part of me thinks that walking off in the 89th minute at 6-0 up makes one hell of a statement...
 

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,392
Well done to the way the England team and manager handled things. Very poor the way the higher authorities have handled everything and now they are clearly in the spotlight but no doubt they will wriggle out as usual


I don't think they can wriggle out of it now. They have to hand out effective punishments to these countries. Fines, especially the recent ones, are utterly pointless. Home games should be played behind closed doors and if the problem returns after that, lengthy bans from all International games.
 

teok

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2011
10,837
33,609
"An hour after the final whistle, just as Greg Clarke, the chairman of the FA, had talked about, among other things, England’s backroom staff being deeply upset by events on the pitch, Bulgarian journalists could be seen laughing and joking, greeting this horror show not with shame or remorse, but as though it was, at worst, an inconvenience.

The statement from Bulgaria’s manager, Krasimir Balakov, that he had not noticed anything, that he just wanted to talk about football, was an anatomy of cowardly dissembling. Balakov had a responsibility to his sport and to basic human decency. He failed on both counts."
 

carpediem991

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2011
8,836
20,308
Worst is UEFA as head of organisation is doing probably near to nothing against it.
Still happens far too often. Shocking that loads of parts in the world just seem to have lots of retarded people...
 

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
33,988
81,938
Worst is UEFA as head of organisation is doing probably near to nothing against it.
Still happens far too often. Shocking that loads of parts in the world just seem to have lots of retarded people...
One of the frustrating things about inaction is people get to throw the racism label around.

Bulgaria have been branded racist and their response was England also has a racism problem. Both views have validity.

The difference is fans shown to be carrying out racist chants in the UK have been banned and punished.

Bulgarian representatives stating they are unaware of the racism are making their whole country look racist. If they dealt with the racists and punished them then there would be no need for sanctions like playing games behind closed doors and fines.

Racism will always occur but I really hoped by now that authorities would at least be punishing it.
 

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
33,988
81,938
One of the frustrating things about inaction is people get to throw the racism label around.

Bulgaria have been branded racist and their response was England also has a racism problem. Both views have validity.

The difference is fans shown to be carrying out racist chants in the UK have been banned and punished.

Bulgarian representatives stating they are unaware of the racism are making their whole country look racist. If they dealt with the racists and punished them then there would be no need for sanctions like playing games behind closed doors and fines.

Racism will always occur but I really hoped by now that authorities would at least be punishing it.
That being said the Bulgarian PM has called for the manager to resign.
 

Marty

Audere est farce
Mar 10, 2005
39,888
62,568
Could we set up like this?

Kane a bit deeper with Lucas and Son in place of Rashford and Sterling.

Dele playing the Barkley role
Winks is Winks and then Ndom/GLC next to him
I think we need someone harder than Dele alongside Winks and TND for that system to work in the PL.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,957
I don't think they can wriggle out of it now. They have to hand out effective punishments to these countries. Fines, especially the recent ones, are utterly pointless. Home games should be played behind closed doors and if the problem returns after that, lengthy bans from all International games.

Or they can move the matches to another country. They’ll do that before banning countries I reckon.
 
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