Wolves ace Saiss urges all footballers to unite in walking off to fight racism
Morocco defender warmed up for FA Cup semi-final vs Watford by calling on Europe’s players to act as one against racial abuse
ROMAIN SAISS has urged Europe’s footballers to be strong together and all walk off the pitch if a player suffers racial abuse.
The Wolves star, preparing for today’s FA Cup semi-final with Watford at Wembley, is well qualified to talk about the subject.
On his 2016 debut in English football, Morocco international Saiss was racially abused by Newcastle’s Jonjo Shelvey, who was banned for five games and fined £100,000.
And racism is a hot topic again in football after recent incidents in Montenegro and Italy.
Some black England players were subjected to monkey chants during their Euro 2020 qualifier win over the Montenegrins last month.
Last Tuesday, black teenager Moise Kean suffered disgusting abuse during Juventus’ Serie A victory at Cagliari.
His Juve team-mate Leonardo Bonucci sparked outrage by stating the “blame is 50-50” because of Kean’s goal celebration — though Bonucci has since claimed he was “clearly misunderstood”.
Saiss, 29, said: “Teams must leave the pitch.
“I was surprised by the response of Bonucci, who said it was 50-50. I don’t think if he was black he would have said this.
“For the entire game you could hear a stupid fan shouting stuff about monkeys. It is hard for the player.
“I think it is a good idea if the player leaves the pitch but a better idea is if all the team follow him.
“Sometimes you can see a lot of players try to persuade their team-mates, who are being abused, to stay on the pitch. They want them to finish the game. Players need to be more together.”
'I RECEIVED BAD WORDS'
Wolves players Matt Doherty, Dominic Iorfa and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson testified against Shelvey, who denied making the comments in his FA hearing.
Saiss, who can play in defence or midfield, recalled: “It was my first game in England and I received some bad words about by ethnicity and religion from a player.
"The problem was that my English was really, really basic so I could not understand what he said.
“Even in the stadium, St James’ Park, the crowd was very loud but my team-mates told me what he said and the club helped me a lot.
“The Football Association investigated this and they suspended the player for five games.
“We have to kick out racism. We are here to play football — we don’t care about the colour or religion.
“I have never heard anything from the stands in England. There are a lot of players from different countries and it’s important we can play together without any problems.”
Today Saiss will be at the home of English football, dreaming of FA Cup glory. It is a far cry from his days playing at non-league Valence in France and working in his family’s restaurant to make ends meet.
He said: “I would only earn 500 euros a month. It was enough for the petrol in my car!
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“I would help my father. I was just washing the plates and giving out menus. It was hard for me as I am lazy.
“It is good to play in the Premier League and people back in Morocco are happy to see me.
“I must try my best and not be too s**t for them. They will give me hell if I play badly!