Bulgaria and England charged after 'appalling' racism saga

UEFA has charged both England and Bulgaria following that match that was halted twice due to alleged racist abuse from members of the Bulgarian crowd.

European football ruling body opened disciplinary proceedings against Bulgaria for racist behaviour, including Nazi salutes and chants, and against England for not providing enough travelling stewards.

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The game, won 6-0 by England on Monday, was twice halted in the first half and a public announcement was made under UEFA's three-step protocol for dealing with racist incidents during matches.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said more needed to be done to tackle the "obnoxious disease" of racism which seemed to be getting worse.

"I call on all football governing bodies to join us and think together of new, stronger and more effective ways to eradicate racism in football," he said.

"Competition organisers should enact regulations which envisage life bans from stadiums for those who are found guilty of racist behaviour at a football match."

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Under pressure from the Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov, the nation's football federation chief Borislav Mihaylov resigned on Tuesday.

The fallout from what English FA chairman Greg Clarke described as "probably one of the most appalling nights I have seen in football," also triggered calls for urgent action from anti-racism campaigners and politicians.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said UEFA needed to do more to tackle "vile" racism.

The issue has long been a blight on European soccer, with racist incidents during matches reported sporadically and abuse levelled at players on social media.

UEFA had already ordered the partial closure of Sofia's Vasil Levski stadium for the England game after racist behaviour by Bulgarian supporters in June's qualifiers against the Czechs and Kosovo.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said that soccer could not solve the problem on its own, and politicians must play a greater role.