Bulgaria have been punished for racist fan behaviour that was witnessed during the country's football game against England in the capital, Sofia.

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The Euro qualifier which ended in a 6-0 defeat for the hosts was suspended twice as the fans were warned against their racists behaviour.

Bulgaria will now have to play 2 of their Euro qualification fixtures behind closed doors with one of the matches suspended for a period of 2 years.

The country has also been slapped with a  75,000 euros (£65,000) fine by Uefa.

During the matches, Bulgaria will also be required to display a banner emblazoned with an anti-racism mesaage: Say No to Racism.

Bulgaria drew the condemnation of English leaders, including the prime minister Boris Johnson and speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, who called for strong action to be taken to prevent the recurrence of racist behaviour in future matches. 

The Bulgarian head of state had also called for the resignation of the country's football association boss.

After the match both the president of the Bulgaria Football Union (BFU), Borislav Mihaylov, and Bulgaria manager Krasimir Balakov tendered their resignations. 

There had been concerns in the build-up to the match by the English side about the prospect of an outbursts of racist behaviour, concerns which were proven true.

The target of the racism were the black players in the English team.

England was also slapped with a 5000 Euros fine for causing disturbance during the national anthem.

The English Football Association reacted to the punishment against Bulgaria, expressing hope that the racist behaviour would not be repeated.

“We sincerely hope the disgraceful scenes in Sofia are never repeated.“Our priority remains our players, support team and fans and we will do all we can to ensure they never have to endure such circumstances again. “While we acknowledge UEFA’s ruling today, a huge challenge still exists around racism and discrimination in society, " the English FA statement partly read.