Callum Hudson-Odoi 'Proud' of How England Handled Racist Abuse in Bulgaria

Callum Hudson-Odoi took pride in how England's senior internationals handled racist abuse during a 6-0 win away to Bulgaria on Monday, and the Chelsea winger believes it's right for players to leave the pitch when faced with such discrimination. 

Hudson-Odoi wasn't in action for the senior team on Monday, instead scoring twice to help the U21 side beat Austria 5-1 in a qualifying match for UEFA U21 on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old subsequently discussed the events in Sofia on Monday, per Sam Dean of the Daily Telegraph: "It is disgusting to hear or see players getting discriminated against. It is not right. I say to myself, whenever that happens you have got to stick together as a team, which the boys did [on Monday]."

One of England's most gifted young players echoed the thoughts of Chelsea team-mate Tammy Abraham by pointing toward a more clear protest that can be made in the face of racism:

"I am really proud to see the boys stick together and in those situations where they say they would walk off the pitch, it is right because no player should be treated differently.

"We are all equal. It is an equal game so we have all got to stay strong. Stay the same and the boys dealt with it well. Hopefully everything will be sorted properly by Uefa. Everything that happened was obviously not right but we have to stick together as a team and move on from it."

England won emphatically in Bulgaria, but Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings, Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling and Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford were regularly subjected to vile chants, according to David Hytner of the Guardian.

Hytner noted an announcement calling for the abuse to cease was made over the PA system. When it persisted, referee Ivan Bebek brought the game to a halt and gave Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate the option to take his players in early before the break.

Southgate opted against it, noting his team wanted to continue, while England's players chose not to exercise to option to stay in and instead returned to the pitch after the restart. In each instance, the officials and team followed UEFA's existing parameters for dealing with hateful rhetoric from the stands.

Prior to the match, Southgate had promised England would adhere to the protocol set down by European football's governing body. The pledge came in response to Abraham saying the Three Lions were ready to defy UEFA rules and leave the pitch en masse if players were abused.

Hudson-Odoi backs Abraham, but believes the decision would need to be taken by the manager and the whole team, per The Daily Mail's Jack Gaughan: "Gareth is the manager, we always have to stick by him. He makes the decision. It is all up to the manager and the captain is a captain decision but also a team decision. So we all have a say in what’s happening."

Events on Monday prompted an apology from Bulgaria manager Krasimir Balakov after the 53-year-old claimed in the aftermath of the game he hadn't heard or seen any abuse, according to John Cross of the Daily Mirror.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria skipper Ivelin Popov confronted some of the supporters engaging in the racial abuse and described himself as "embarrassed" by events, per The Daily Mail.

Rashford felt FC Rostov midfielder Popov's actions deserved praise:

Bulgaria's prime minister Bokyo Borissov joined Popov in speaking out and also demanded the resignation of Football Union president Borislav Mihaylov, a move endorsed by Sterling:

Incidents like those witnessed at the Stadion Vasil Levski will increase calls for UEFA and FIFA to adopt stronger stances toward racism, including providing players, both today and in the future, with a clearer framework for how to respond.