Raheem Sterling Subject of Alleged Racist Abuse During England's Win Over Bulgaria

11 September 2019 17:49

​It has been revealed that Raheem Sterling was targeted by racist abuse from the away section of Wembley during England's 4-0 win over Bulgaria in their Euro 2020 qualifying clash.

Gareth Southgate's side romped to victory over the group's bottom side, to maintain their 100% start to their qualifying campaign, but the latest news has put a dampener on what was otherwise a fine night's work for the Three Lions.

Starting the match, ​Sterling scored and set up another for Harry Kane before being substituted after 71 minutes in another strong performance with the national side. However, ​Sky Sports have relayed news from the FA which has indicated an individual from the away section was heard by a steward to be directing racist abuse at the ​Manchester City forward.

The person was subsequently ejected from the stadium and handed to police where he was taken to a north London police station on suspicion of an aggravated public order offence. After enquires with the suspect, he was released with no further action. 


As a result of the news, a spokesperson from the FA issued a statement regarding the incident: "We can confirm that an individual, who was seated in the away section of the stadium, was ejected and subsequently arrested for discriminatory abuse during the England v Bulgaria match," they said.

Raheem Sterling

"Wembley Stadium operates a zero tolerance policy on anti-social and discriminatory behaviour and anyone found guilty will be ejected and reported to the police."

This is not the first time the ​Premier League star has been the target of such abuse, with two of England’s first three Euro 2020 qualifying matches having now been tainted by alleged incidents of racism. During this qualifying campaign, Sterling and Tottenham’s Danny Rose were among the players subjected to racist chanting in Montenegro back in March, during the Three Lions' 5-1 win.

Source: 90min