Alan Pardew leaves role at CSKA Sofia after supporters racially abuse players

Pardew has been left angered by the incident

Alan Pardew has stepped down from his role as manager and technical director of Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia after sections of their supporters racially abused their own club's players.

Pardew had been set to be the club's manager going into the new season

Pardew had initially agreed to stay on in the role going into the new season after positive talks with the club's owner, but following their cup final defeat to biggest rivals Levski Sofia, supporters let their frustrations be known. CSKA faced Botev Plovdiv a week after their cup final loss but as Pardew and the squad arrived at the stadium, they were met by a group of fans outside of the ground. Four of the club's black players were racially abused throughout and had bananas thrown at them during the game. Although the players subjected to racial abuse had initially refused to play, they were convinced to do so in the end.

Pardew said that events he witnessed were 'unacceptable'

As per Sky Sports, Pardew was left angered and upset by the incident and looked to speak with the board as soon as he could. The Bulgarian side then announced in a statement on Wednesday that Pardew had decided to step down from his position with immediate effect along with his assistant Alex Dyer, who became the first black man to hold a coaching role at CSKA. In the statement posted to the club's website, Pardew said the scenes he witnessed were "unacceptable" and that he had no option but to walk away. https://twitter.com/CSKA_Sofia/status/1531937427417350144 It said: "The events before and after the match against Botev Plovdiv were unacceptable not only for me, but also for my assistant Alex Dyer and for my players. Our players decided to play out of loyalty towards the club. "This small group of organised racist fans, who tried to sabotage the game, are not the fans I want to coach the team in front of. That's definitely not the right way for CSKA because such club deserves a lot more. "I would want to express my gratitude towards all true CSKA fans for their support and passion. I also want to thank Grisha and Dani Ganchev [the club owners] for their efforts to bring the club forward despite all the challenges and circumstances. "It's been a privilege and honour to serve this great club. Unfortunately, my time here has come to an end." Related links:

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