Alan Pardew Quits CSKA Sofia After Bananas Thrown At Black Players By Their Own Fans

Alan Pardew has resigned from his role as manager and technical director of CSKA Sofia with immediate effect after fans of the club racially abused their own players at a recent match.

Pardew has quit the Bulgarian club just 34 days after being appointed as full-time manager.

He had planned to continue in his role next season after holding talks with the club following their Bulgarian Cup final defeat to rivals Levski Sofia last month.

But he has now resigned after four black players in his squad were subjected to racist abuse and had bananas thrown at them ahead of a league match against Botev Plovdiv.

According to Sky Sports, the players were confronted by a group of angry supporters outside the stadium ahead of the match.

The players initially refused to play in the game after being subjected to racist abuse but were later persuaded to do so.

Pardew was angered and upset at the incident and sought urgent talks with club bosses.

He has now decided to leave the club along with his assistant coach Alex Dyer, who was the first black player to hold a coaching role at CSKA.

Pardew said in a statement: "The events before and after the match with Botev were not acceptable for me, for my assistant Alex Dyer, or for our players.

"The small group of organised racist fans who tried to sabotage this game are not who I want to lead and represent the team in front of."

"That's definitely not the right way for CSKA because such club deserves a lot more."

He added: "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 was a privilege for me to be a part of and to serve this club. Unfortunately, my time here has come to an end."

Former West Ham and Crystal Palace boss Pardew was appointed as the full-time CSKA manager in April after holding the technical director role since November.

He guided the club to a second-place finish in the Bulgarian league behind champions Ludogorets Razgrad.