The President of Bulgaria’s Football Union (BFU), Borislav Mikhailov, has resigned from his position.
His decision comes a day after several of England’s players were subjected to racist abuse by Bulgarian fans during last nights Euro 2020 Qualifier in which England won 6-0.
It has been reported Mikhailov’s resignation has come as “a consequence of the recent tensions”, but racism was not mentioned during their statement announcing his exit.
Earlier today, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Book Borisov said the government would halt all funding to the BFU until Mikhailov resigned.
Prior to the match, Mikhailov had dismissed England’s concerns regarding the potential threat of racist abuse, stating that Gareth Southgate’s concerns were “offensive” and “derogatory”.
During last night’s match between England and Bulgaria, the game was stopped twice after Bulgarian football fans were heard chanting racial abuse and making Nazi salutes towards England players.
England captain Harry Kane has expressed his concerns of Uefa’s three-stop protocol.
Following the game, Kane said: “Whether the Uefa protocol is strong enough, I am not sure.
“The protocol at the moment allows there to be an announcement and two or three steps before the payers are taken off the pitch. It is unacceptable to be racist once so I feel there can be stronger punishments and protocols but from our point of view as a team, we stuck together, showed unity and that is the most important thing.”