I KNOW PLAYERS HAVE BEEN RACIALLY ABUSED IN RUGBY
Itoje condemns ‘appalling’ treatment of England footballers… but warns his sport can’t be complacent
MARO ITOJE has strongly condemned the racism endured by England footballers this week and warned that rugby cannot be complacent about the spectre of abuse.
Black players were subjected to disgraceful chants from the crowd when Gareth Southgate’s team faced Bulgaria in a European Championship qualifier in Sofia on Monday night.
Itoje, England’s second-row forward, was asked yesterday about the unsavoury events and the Saracens lock delivered a searing response. ‘It’s appalling,’ he said.
‘It’s abysmal. You would think they wouldn’t have to go through that. It sends a poor message about the game of football.
‘It’s a shame because it’s such a beautiful game and it’s being tarred by people with racist thoughts and racist minds.
‘It’s terrible that they have to experience that when they just want to go out and play the game they love.
‘I’m very happy that, for the most part in rugby, there’s a different climate and that kind of stuff doesn’t happen.’
The oval-ball game is not entirely without blemish when it comes to racism. Itoje said that he did not feel he had been targeted for abuse, but added: ‘ I know of people who have in rugby, both in the professional game and in grass-roots rugby.
‘Not for England. I know of players at the club — not necessarily in the Premiership but playing in different parts of the world. They reported it, but in rugby you don’t have microphones everywhere so it’s hard to prove.
‘ It’s important never to just assume that this is a free zone from any form of discrimination.
‘Rugby is probably — from the sports that I’ve seen — right up there in terms of integrity, respect and how they treat people. But I think it is important never to just assume it’s always going to be that way. It is something we have to keep on top of.’
While there are official initiatives in football designed to tackle racism, in recent times the drive to identify and eradicate the problem has been led by individual players such as Raheem Sterling and various England team-mates who have suffered abuse.
Itoje admires their efforts to force through vital change, but he argues there should be far better institutionalised action.
‘I’m all for player empowerment,’ he said. ‘I’m all for players speaking up when they feel there are injustices done to them, so that in itself is good.
‘It is important for players who are subject to this kind of abuse and discrimination that they speak up and highlight the wrongs and the issues.
‘But I also think the associations and teams need to take a tougher stand. I’m not even sure what the punishment is. It needs to be more severe because it is obviously not acting as a deterrent, especially when they go to places like Bulgaria,’ said Itoje (right).
‘I was reading something the other day about a Bulgarian reporter arguing with Gareth Southgate about whether it was racist or not. He walked out in a huff about it.
‘That just shows how bad the issue is if you have press in that country arguing against what we would consider blatant discrimination. That highlights the magnitude of the problem we face.’ The talking point came up as Itoje prepares for one of the biggest games of his career. He will start in the second row on Saturday as England face Australia in a World Cup quarter-final in Oita. Having been involved in countless showpiece contests with Saracens, he is comfortable with the tension of knockout rugby and expressed his excitement about the assignment ahead. ‘There’s no tomorrow here,’ he said. ‘It’s do or die. There’s no, “we’ll get it right next week”. It’s about performing. So it makes it more exciting. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.’ Itoje goes into the occasion as a stalwart art of the England pack. Soon after Eddie Jones took charge of the national team, he spoke of wanting to see the prodigy earn a few ‘scars’ by demonstrating the requisite level of physicality and abrasive aggression.
Asked if he feels that he has gained the head coach’s respect as an enforcer figure in the second row, the 24-year-old said: ‘I hope so. I hope I don’t have too many battle scars, though.
‘ I would like to leave rugby blemish-free. I don’t know how realistic a goal that is. I definitely don’t want to end up looking like Steve Borthwick — that would be a sad day for me!
‘As a forward, let alone a secondrow forward, you’re always going to have a physical role within the team. My aim is to have a positive impact on the team physically and hopefully emotionally.’
Itoje is having a positive impact on his team. And his strong views on racism should have a positive impact on his sport and other sports, too.
‘It’s important not to assume that rugby is a racism-free zone... we have to keep on top of it’