UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, has admitted the body has not done enough to combat racism in European football.
UEFA has come under criticism amid a spate of racist incidents in recent months, ranging from monkey chants aimed at Romelu Lukaku and Mario Balotelli in Italy, to the abuse that was directed at England’s black players during their Euro 2020 qualifier away to Bulgaria in October.
After an investigation into the shameful scenes in Sofia, UEFA punished Bulgaria by forcing them to play their next competitive home game behind closed doors with a further match suspended for two years. The Bulgaria football union were also fined €75,000.
However the sanction was criticised by the anti-discrimination network Football Against Racism in Europe (Fare), which said it was disappointed Bulgaria had not been expelled from the competition after being found guilty of a third offence this year, while Kick It Out said Uefa had “missed an opportunity” to send the right message.
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