Bulgaria AND England charged by UEFA for incidents before and during Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia

UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Bulgaria and England following Monday night's Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia.

The Bulgarian Football Union has been charged for racist behaviour of their fans, throwing of objects and disruption of a national anthem, as well as showing replays on a giant screen.

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The English Football Association, meanwhile, has been charged with the disruption of a national anthem and providing an insufficient number of travelling stewards.

According to a UEFA statement, the case will be dealt with by the governing body's control, ethics and disciplinary body, with the date of the meeting yet to be confirmed.

Monday's match at the Vasil Levski National Stadium was stopped twice as Bulgarian fans made Nazi salutes and directed monkey noises at black England players.

Following UEFA's anti-racism protocols, an announcement was made in the 28th minute warning fans that any further incidents could result in the match being abandoned, while another pause before half-time only added to the nasty spectacle.

England decided at half-time to play the remainder of the game as braces from Ross Barkley and Raheem Sterling and goals for Marcus Rashford and Kane ensured a thumping 6-0 win for the visitors.

The president of the Bulgarian Football Union resigned in the wake of the disgusting abuse directed at England's players after calls from the country's prime minister for him to stand down.

Boyko Borissov, Bulgaria's leader, tweeted on Tuesday morning: “I strongly condemn the conduct of some of the fans at the stadium.

“It is unacceptable that Bulgaria which is one of the most tolerant states in the world and where people of different ethnic and religious background peacefully live together should be associated with racism.”

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Bulgaria have been punished for racist behaviour before, and 5,000 seats were closed off against England as punishment for the actions of their supporters in the June Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Kosovo.

Before announcing the disciplinary charges, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin had urged the "football family" to "wage war on the racists".

Ceferin blamed a rise in nationalism across Europe for fuelling racism at matches and said the governing body was committed to eradicating the "disease" from football.

"Believe me, UEFA is committed to doing everything it can to eliminate this disease from football," Ceferin said in a statement.

"We cannot afford to be content with this, we must always strive to strengthen our resolve.

"More broadly, the football family - everyone from administrators to players, coaches and fans - needs to work with governments and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to wage war on the racists and to marginalise their abhorrent views to the fringes of society. Football associations themselves cannot solve this problem. Governments too need to do more in this area."

Prominent anti-racism campaigner Troy Townsend told talkSPORT Bulgaria should be immediately expelled from Euro 2020 qualifying and banned from further UEFA competitions.

"Partial stadiums are not going to work," he insisted.

“For me, they should be thrown out the competition immediately, and there should be suspended sentences towards the UEFA Nations League and towards the next round of European qualifiers.

“If you do not get your house in order – and UEFA must stipulate what that means – then unfortunately you will not be able to play in the tournament.

“Fines do absolutely nothing, so now it is expulsions. And if they really do want to send a really strong message to every nation that has received those paltry fines, it is that strong message of expulsion from European competitions.”