FIFA president Gianni Infantino wants to see worldwide life bans imposed on fans found guilty of racist abuse.
UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Bulgaria and England following Monday’s Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia, which was stopped twice as Bulgarian fans made Nazi salutes and directed monkey noises at black England players.
Charges against the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) include the racist behaviour, throwing of objects and disruption of a national anthem by home supporters.
The English Football Association has also been charged with disruption of a national anthem, as well as providing an insufficient number of travelling stewards.
Infantino called for “all football governing bodies” to come together and come up with “new, stronger and more effective ways to eradicate racism in football”.
He said in a statement: “As a starting point, I suggest that all competition organisers enact regulations which envisage life bans from stadiums for those who are found guilty of racist behaviour at a football match. FIFA can then enforce such bans at a worldwide level.”
Following UEFA’s anti-racism protocols, an announcement was made in the 28th minute of the match warning fans that any further incidents of racist abuse could result in it being abandoned, while another pause before half-time only added to the nasty spectacle.
A three-step protocol from the governing body would have allowed the officials to take the teams off for a break in play as a second measure before ultimately taking the final step of abandoning the game.
Infantino, who during his time at UEFA introduced that protocol, added: “When we proposed the three-step procedure in 2009 when I was at UEFA, and then made the regulations even tougher a few years later, we could not have imagined that so shortly thereafter we would again be having to think of how to combat this obnoxious disease that seems to be getting even worse in some parts of the world.”