England stars slam Bulgarian fans over racist acts 

ANKARA

English national football team players slammed Bulgarian fans over their racist behavior during UEFA EURO 2020 qualifiers game.     

Manchester City star Raheem Sterling, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings were targeted in Sofia by many Bulgarian fans who called them monkeys.     

"Feeling sorry for Bulgaria to be represented by such idiots in their stadium. Anyway.. 6-0 and we go back home, at least we did our job. Safe travel to our fans, u guys did well," Sterling tweeted early Tuesday.     

"Very proud moment for me and my family tonight to make my England debut. The unfortunate incidents in the game were handled as well as possible  & proud of how we handled it," Mings tweeted.     

Rashford said that this type of behavior is unacceptable and should not happen in this day and age.     

"Also been told what the Bulgaria captain did at half-time. To stand alone and do the right thing takes courage and acts like that shouldn't go unnoticed. #NoToRacism," Rashford said.     

Several Bulgarian fans in the Vasil Levski National Stadium raised monkey slogans and mimicked Nazi salutes to provoke the guest team.     

England hammered Bulgaria 6-0 in the Group A match as Rashford scored the opener and Sterling put the ball into the Bulgarian net twice.     

UEFA, European football's governing body, has repeatedly vowed to eliminate racism and discrimination from the game.     

In recent years, UEFA released a video to raise awareness about racism, with many football stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic joining the campaign.