Celtic star Scott Sinclair won’t let racists beat him – and calls on Scottish football to stand up against ‘uneducated’ thugs
A sickening video surfaced on social media of the Hoops winger being racially abused as he stepped up to take a penalty during the Betfred Cup Final
SCOTT SINCLAIR was scrolling through dozens of messages of congratulations after the Betfred Cup Final.
Then he a saw a video of a moronic Aberdeen fan racially abusing him and felt his blood boil.
Celtic winger Sinclair could have ignored the taunt and tried to forget about it — but why should he?
He has been targeted for vile abuse several times in Scotland but vowed the racists won’t beat him.
And Sinclair insists he will continue to call out the “uneducated” thugs who dish out the sickening taunts.
Asked about the cup final video, he said: “I saw it on social media. I was flicking through some things and came across it.
“It’s one of those things that shouldn’t be happening. It’s 2018.
“When I tweeted about it, I called them uneducated and that’s what they are.
“They are uneducated in this area and they have black players in their team, so it’s very confusing.
“This is what I don’t understand. Why would someone use that sort of slur towards black players?
“It is embarrassing. It’s not acceptable for anyone in society to even think they can use that sort of language, whether they are at a football game or in the street.
“But it’s always around and it’s such a shame to keep hearing these racial slurs.”
Sinclair applauded Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling for speaking out on racist abuse earlier this month.
And he is happy that a new light is being shone on the treatment of black players across Britain.
He said: “Definitely, I think there’s more light to it now.
“Even with Raheem still experiencing it down south and speaking out.
“It seems that there is more light to it and people are hopefully taking more note of the situation.
“In the past players might have been racially abused and thought, ‘Never mind, I’m not going to say anything because nothing gets done’.
“Hopefully, as things start being done, we can move into a more positive light.”
Aberdeen’s Shay Logan, Sinclair’s direct opponent in Celtic’s cup final win, was one of many to speak out in support of him.
But the Celtic winger has been overwhelmed by the backing he’s got from people from all walks of life.
He said: “I’ve had a lot of support from all sides and all sorts of fans. They know that it’s wrong.”
Sinclair will face Aberdeen once again on Boxing Day and he is looking forward to the Pittodrie visit.
The Englishman admits he loves the atmosphere up north and reckons the Hoops can handle the heat there.
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He said: “The Pittodrie atmosphere is great. It’s always loud, especially with our fans.
“It’s great to play there. All the players look forward to these games and raise it.
“These are great days for the supporters. But every game is difficult because everybody wants to beat you.
“We are going to go there, give 100 per cent and make sure we win.” After Pittodrie, Ibrox is next up for Celtic and Sinclair is gutted only 750 away fans will be there.
He said: “It’s disappointing that we won’t have so many of our supporters at Ibrox, but you just blank that out and get on with it.
“I’m experienced now. I have been in the game for what seems like a long time now.
“You just go out and enjoy the occasion.
“But it’s such a shame that our supporters won’t be there in the same numbers.
“Normally we have seven or eight thousand and now it’s seven or eight hundred. But that’s the way it is.
“We’ve just got to get on with it, go out there and make sure we win.
“We want to win every game, no matter if it’s Rangers or Dundee. It’s the same.
“That’s why we’ve become champions. We don’t worry about anyone else. We always just concentrate on ourselves and expect high standards of ourselves.”
Those two away games come at the end of a gruelling schedule for Celtic, but Sinclair isn’t suffering from fatigue.
He said: “I feel good and I feel fit. I’m used to the number of games throughout the Christmas period.
"Obviously it’s not ideal. But as football players this is sometimes what it’s about.
“We’ll spend Christmas morning with our families, with our kids. Then we will have to train in the afternoon and travel up to Aberdeen.
“It’s not ideal, but we have a winter break coming up so we will spend time with our families then.
“It’s difficult, but most of us haven’t had much time off on Christmas Day before.
"I’ve trained on Christmas Day for God knows how many years now and you just get used to it.
“We’ll get the chance to spend time with our families once we get into the winter break.
“You just manage. It’s all about balance. You have to play football and try to be professional. You come home and you have family life.
“I’ll take the family out to Dubai. I’ll take the kids, my family and the parents.
“We’ll have a nice break over there for a few days and then come back ready for the second part of the season.”