
Bulgaria police hold six over racist abuse at England match
Six Bulgarians have been detained over racist abuse at a Euro 2020 qualifier against England that sparked a storm of protest and led to the resignation of the country’s football chief, police said Wednesday. Monkey chants and apparent Nazi salutes overshadowed England’s 6-0 win in Sofia on Monday, with the match halted twice during the first half due to the abuse. “Six people have been detained and another three are being actively sought,” Sofia police chief commissioner Georgy Hadzhiev told journalists.
Hadzhiev added that so far 15 people have been singled out via CCTV at the Vasil Levski National Stadium as being suspected of directing abuse against England’s black players. Penalties for the offences carry brief detentions, fines and bans from sports events.
In total, 15,000 people watched the match at a stadium already partially closed after racist incidents during games against Kosovo and the Czech Republic in June.
England manager Gareth Southgate told reporters after the game that his side had been ready to walk off the pitch if the abusive behaviour continued but players decided to complete the match.
The incident sparked a storm of angry reactions from fans, media and officials in both countries.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the “vile” racism, while his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov forced the country’s football federation chief Borislav Mihaylov to offer his resignation on Tuesday.
In a statement late Tuesday, Bulgarian national team manager Krasimir Balakov offered his apologies to the England player.
The scandal divided Bulgarians -- while many apologised in posts on social media about what they said was a pervasive problem in the country, others refused to be identified with the offenders and condemned British media headlines that called all Bulgarians “racists” and “animals”.
UEFA announced that it was launching a probe into the behaviour of both the Bulgaria and England fans. Its president Aleksander Ceferin stressed the commitment of European football’s governing body to root out the “disease” of racism.

Lewandowski hat-trick steers Bayern past Dortmund 4-2
- Bayern Munich roared back from two goals down to beat Borussia Dortmund 4-2.

Morata double fires Juventus to comeback win over Lazio
- Morata helped Juventus come from behind to beat Lazio 3-1 in Serie A.

Messi grabs two assists as Barcelona march on with victory at Osasuna
- Messi helped Barca take the lead on the half-hour mark when he carved open Osasuna's defence with a superb cross-field ball to Alba, who controlled before blasting into the roof of the net.

Leicester turn up heat in top-four race
- Daniel Amartey's 88th-minute header completed a comeback win for Leicester who stretched their unbeaten away run to 10 games.

Sylla’s late intervention keeps NorthEast level against Bagan
- The draw also extended NorthEast unbeaten run this season to 11, with 10 of those coming under interim head coach Khalid Jamil. The 43-year-old Indian coach made three changes to the side that had won 2-0 against Kerala Blasters in their last league game of the campaign.

Benzema back for Real in time for derby showdown at Atletico

Champions Liverpool keep sinking after fifth Anfield defeat in a row
- Chelsea dominated Thursday’s game and could have had more goals to add to Mason Mount’s exquisite first-half strike that turned out to be the match-winner.

ISL semi-final: FC Goa draw with Mumbai City in the first leg
- FC Goa attacked Dessai through Saviour Gama before twinkle-toed Jorge Ortiz tested him. By the 17th minute, Dessai had been caught out thrice; the last time because of a poor pass which Alexander Jesuraj intercepted needing a tackle from Vignesh Dakshinamurthy that could have been a penalty.

Thomas Muller role model for Bayern Munich: Klinsmann
- Muller wouldn’t feature regularly that season but he went on to score in the Champions League knockout stages coming on as a substitute against Sporting Lisbon.

Tuchel says Chelsea players deserve praise for resurgence

Midfielder Jamal Musiala signs with Bayern Munich to 2026
- Musiala has been making steady progress since he joined Bayern’s under-17 team from Chelsea in 2019. He has made 27 appearances for the first team, scoring four goals.

Salah was feeling the intensity, Klopp says after Chelsea defeat

Barcelona defender Piqué out with right knee injury

Tottenham edge past Fulham thanks to Adarabioyo own goal
