English football has and continues to be marred by incidents of racism and discrimination. Even though the English Football Association (FA) and FIFA have taken drastic measures – banning players and/or fans, imposing hefty fines – on clubs around Europe and England, these incidents are recurrent.
In a Premier League match between Manchester City and Chelsea in London on 8 December, Man City player Raheem Sterling was subject to racial abuse from Chelsea fans. While Sterling retrieved the ball for a corner, fans of the London-based club hurled racist insults. A middle-aged man has been identified on video and has faced severe repercussions. The fan has lost his job and has been banned from entering the stadium.
One of the most iconic images that emerged from the incident was of Sterling laughing in the face of those racially abusing him. He was lauded for his maturity and maintaining his calm.
However, he later took to Instagram to showcase the fact that the issue of racism in sport is more widespread and has percolated to the grassroots. He gave the example of two of his team-mates – Tosin Adarabioyo and Phil Foden, both of whom are young players from the Manchester City Academy.
The first image was of Adarabioyo , a 20-year-old academy player. The article described him as a 20-year-old player on a salary of £25000 a week, who bought a mansion without having played a single match for City.
The second image was of Phil Foden – another 20-year-old, who has made only a handful of stars for Pep Guardiola’s side. The article published about him read, “Manchester City starlet Phil Foden buys new £2 million home for his mum”. Foden was portrayed in a markedly different light by the English media as compared to Adarabioyo.
Sterling was supported by a host of superstars for his post, including his current and ex-teammates. Managers from around the league commended him for speaking out about the persistent racism in sport and English football in particular.
A week prior to this incident, Arsenal played their biggest rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, also in London. During the match, Arsenal's Gabonese player Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was racially abused when a Tottenham fan threw a banana skin at him in the stadium.
These are the latest incidents that have brought to the limelight, the racism that still exists in football. Campaigns such as ‘Kick It Out’ may have managed to reduce the frequency of these incidents, but there is a lot more that needs to be done to preserve the spirit – and sanctity – of the game.
It is important for all news outlets to understand fair publicity, and give an equal chance to all players through unprejudiced reportage.
Nike has also released a special campaign in support of Sterling and him speaking about the racism that exists in sport today.
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