Gareth Southgate says England must fix their own racism problems before others, with the Three Lions boss empathising with Bulgarian Football Union president Borislav Mihaylov.

Mihaylov was left annoyed after comments from the England camp stating they would walk off if they were subjected to racial abuse when the two countries face in Sofia on Monday.

But Southgate insists his team will abide by UEFA's three-step protocol, which allows the referee stop the match, then take players off the pitch, and if the problem persists an abandonment can be announced.

"I can totally understand why the Bulgarian president feels as he does, because we have purely been responding honestly to questions we've been asked by you guys," Southgate told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

"That will then be relayed, however it may be relayed in Bulgaria, and the way that that's pitched could appear provocative or appear that we're the people who are laying the subject on the table.

"If I was him, and I was only reading those quotes and not knowing the context of why the things were said and the responses were said, then I would feel probably as he does.

"We are not trying to create a situation at all, far from it. We're all hoping that over the next 72 hours, we're just talking about two football matches.

"I think both countries would have a strong desire for that and I have to say again, we don't look at other countries in a way that we don't shine a mirror on our own."