The abuse Raheem Sterling suffered at Chelsea makes me sick… we must stop these ignorant pigs
What we witnessed on Saturday night in Chelsea's win over Manchester City should shock everyone
What we witnessed on Saturday night in Chelsea's win over Manchester City should shock everyone
DISGRACEFUL, disgusting, pathetic.
There is no other way to describe the vile abuse Raheem Sterling suffered at Stamford Bridge.
What we witnessed on Saturday night should shock everyone.
It just makes me sick.
When you see it, you just think ‘My God’.
I understand people have loyalty towards the teams they support.
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But there was pure hatred in that guy’s face. I see that at several games when players are going to get the ball in front of the opposition’s supporters.
How on earth do people get like that at a football match? For goodness sake, it’s only a game.
These are grown men. They might have children.
I just do not understand it at all.
If you racially abuse a player, anyone in fact, you should be banned for life from every ground.
If found guilty, this guy should never ever be allowed anywhere near a stadium again.
Chelsea must send out the strongest possible message.
Because watching that on Saturday night was like going back to the sort of stuff we saw 30 years ago. We all thought we were getting somewhere, even if it was slowly.
When I first started out as a player, making my debut for Southampton in 1988, I remember hearing racist chanting.
It gradually got less and less frequent over the years and a lot of work has gone in to making that happen.
When I was playing, the Kick It Out campaign was launched and it is still doing its good work now.
I know the Premier League puts a lot into working with Kick It Out and the clubs, to train stewards and make reporting discrimination easier for them and the fans.
We need to carry on enforcing this work promoting inclusion and equality.
There are people throughout the game trying extremely hard to try to stop this sort of abuse.
But, unfortunately, it is a one or two per cent minority who are still ignorant pigs.
And sometimes you just cannot stop these idiots.
But that does not mean you stop trying.
It is not just at football grounds that players are suffering this sort of abuse.
On social media, idiots are being given a voice.
When you are in the public eye and you go on social media, you know what you are letting yourself in for.
But you still shouldn’t have to put up with it and that is another issue which needs stamping out.
Raheem Sterling has my full sympathy, as well as my respect for how he has handled the situation.
He is playing some brilliant football for Manchester City and he has been one of the best players in the Premier League all season.
There is no way he or anyone should have to put up with c**p like that.