The taxi driver on the morning run to Sofia airport was lugubrious, middle-aged and wearing an England football shirt. What had he made of the racist abuse of England’s footballers by sections of the Bulgaria crowd the night before. “These people,” he said, curtly, “are idiots.”
The taxi driver wondered aloud why the Sofia police did not prevent the black-clad cohort of Bulgaria ultras from entering the stadium, the same tight-knit group who would later (it seemed) offer Nazi-style salutes – as those who know them knew they would. Instead the police had escorted the ultras inside.
Written by Barney Ronay
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/oct/15/uefa-paltry-fines-sofia-bulgaria-england under the title “Paltry fines and spineless words helped create the poison in Sofia | Barney Ronay”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
