England’s firm but dignified handling of shameful scenes in Bulgaria was character-building in the extreme
Jadon Sancho walked towards the tunnel of the Vasil Levski Stadium in the bitter and slightly surreal aftermath of England’s Euro 2020 qualifying win over Bulgaria – a match in which the football had seemed almost incidental. Ten yards in front of him were two of his black teammates, Tyrone Mings and Marcus Rashford, and a group of Bulgarian children were shouting for their shirts.
Mings and Rashford had been targeted for abhorrent racial abuse from a section of the home support, with the former saying he first heard the monkey chants when he went out for the warm-up, and they kept on walking, eyes fixed on the exit door a little way away. That is when they heard the noises, yet another round of them, from the so-called grown-ups in the vicinity. It is inconceivable Sancho did not hear them.
Written by David Hytner
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/oct/15/england-players-stronger-sofia-experience-gareth-southgate under the title “Gareth Southgate and England take strength from odious Sofia experience | David Hytner”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
