Black England footballers suffer Nazi salutes and vile monkey noises from racist Bulgarian fans
- FA chiefs complain to UEFA over Young and Walcott abuse
Football Association chiefs have made an official complaint after black England footballers were subjected to vile racist abuse from Bulgarian fans.
Manchester United's Ashley Young and Arsenal's Theo Walcott were taunted with monkey noises and Nazi salutes during England's victory in Sofia last night.
The chants could be heard when Young was substituted and Walcott was targeted when he missed a chance late in the Euro qualifier.
Vile: One Bulgarian supporter gives a Nazi salute during the game against England in Sofia
Hateful message: Bulgarian fans unfurl an abusive banner as a supporter gives a Nazi salute
FA officials reported the behaviour to the UEFA match delegate after the game which saw home supporters unfurl a banner which said 'F*** UEFA'.
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England's two-goal match winner Wayne Rooney slammed the Bulgarian fans' behaviour. He said: 'We could hear it on the pitch. It has been going on for years.and it's not right.
'It needs to stop and hopefully something will be done about it.'
Walcott told Mail Sport: 'It was very clear. I ignored it. I think the FA will deal with that and I don't want to comment too much. The result was the important thing.'
Fiery salute : Bulgarian soccer supporters light up a flare in Sofia
Abused: England's Ashley Young in action last night in Sofia against Bulgaria
England captain John Terry had not heard the abuse during the game, but told Sky TV: 'You don't expect that at all. It was a great spectacle for everyone to watch let's not let that spoil it.'
Apology: Lothar Matthaus said sorry for the behaviour of Bulgarian fans
Bulgaria boss Lothar Matthaus, a former German World Cup winner, apologised for the conduct of the minority of his team's fans.
Like Terry before him, he admitted to being 'not very informed' about what had occurred, having been focused on the match.
But he added: 'It is very pitiful for such things to happen. Because of that I would like to apologise on behalf of the Bulgarian Football Federation.'
England have encountered racism problems on their travels before. Seven years ago Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole were targeted by home spectators during a friendly played in Madrid.
A spokesman for the FA confirmed: 'We've raised it with the Bulgarian FA and the UEFA delegate after the match. That's all we're saying about it.'
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