A child with a swastika on his bare chest and another giving a Nazi salute. Banners celebrating the birthday of Adolf Hitler and mocking anti-racism campaigns. Bananas thrown at black players by fans of their own team.

If England thought after their last match in Bulgaria that supporter behaviour there could get no worse than the monkey chanting their players endured that night, the intervening eight years have sadly proven otherwise.

Just how bad the problem has become at national-team level will be laid bare tomorrow evening when Gareth Southgate’s side play their latest European Championship qualifier at a partially closed Vasil Levski Stadium.

That closure is the heaviest sanction imposed by Uefa on the Bulgarian Football Union for “racist behaviour” by supporters, one of whom was also ejected from last month’s fixture at Wembley for abusing Raheem Sterling.

Fan behaviour is even worse in club football in the country, judging by the number of truly shocking incidents since a previous England Euro qualifier there in 2011.