Bulgaria Boss Krasimir Balakov Says He Didn't Hear Racist Abuse in England Loss

Krasimir Balakov has denied knowledge of any racism from supporters during England's 6-0 hammering of Bulgaria in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, despite there being two temporary stoppages during the match due to racist abuse. 

Monday's match was close to being abandoned after referee Ivan Bebek used the first phase of UEFA's three-step anti-racism protocol. Fans could clearly be seen targeting England players with monkey chants and Nazi salutes, but the Three Lions withstood the abuse to emerge one-sided winners, via Sky Sports:

Raheem Sterling and Ross Barkley each netted two, while Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford also got on the score sheet. A stadium address was read out in the 28th minute asking for racist chanting to stop, and England manager Gareth Southgate and captain Kane discussed with the referee whether the match needed to be halted.

Balakov spoke to ITV after his side's demolition via a translator and said he didn't hear any racist insults:

The 53-year-old criticised England's fans for jeering during the Bulgarian national anthem and said he heard chants from the away section that he found unacceptable:

"I personally did not hear the chanting that you're most probably referring to. I saw that the referee stopped the game, but I also have to say the unacceptable behaviour was not only on behalf of Bulgarian fans, but also the English fans, who were whistling and shouting during the Bulgarian national anthem. And during the second half, they used words against our fans which I find unacceptable."

Journalists Simon Peach and James Olley provided more details from Balakov's post-match press conference:

The topic of racism and the implementation of UEFA's three-step protocol was a prominent topic of discussion in the build-up to Monday's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier.

Balakov previously addressed the issue and said English football had a worse racism problem than that seen in Bulgaria, per the Press Association (h/t Sky Sports). 

Brace-scorer Sterling replied to those remarks after the Group A result:

When it was put to Balakov that the optimal scenario would be a game with no racist chanting, he replied:

"If this turns out to be true, we are truly sorry, and we (Bulgaria football's governing powers) are working very hard. And nobody wants to see this.

"But let me tell you that this really has never happened in all of our games up until now, and this happened now in the England game. If something can be proven then we're sorry, but we cannot speak on behalf of some fans."

Most people watching will have seen the abuse being aimed at some English players, and debutant Tyrone Mings spoke to the BBC's John Murray after the game to share his experience:

Balakov also appeared to suggest he thought the temporary stoppages were as a result of a banner in the crowd and not due to racist abuse towards players.

Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright appeared on ITV's broadcast of the match and hailed it as a "great day" in the fight against racism, (h/t Mirror's Darren Wells).

Sterling could have looked to leave the field alongside his team if they were unhappy to play on in Bulgaria, but the Manchester City marvel got his reward in a different manner:

England have two matches remaining in Euro 2020 qualifying and are guaranteed to top Group A if they beat Montenegro on November 14.