Players’ behaviour in face of abuse praised

PREMIER LEAGUE: Anti-racism campaign given added impetus

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters hailed the “exemplary” behaviour of England’s players and manager Gareth Southgate in Bulgaria, as the league prepared to launch its own anti-racism campaign.

Masters was watching on television at home as sections of the Bulgarian support racially abused England’s black players and performed Nazi salutes in Monday night’s Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia.

The English top flight will be promoting its No Room For Racism campaign over the next two weekends of Premier League action, with clubs broadcasting videos in support of the initiative on stadium big screens.

The initiative was always due to happen now and the timing has nothing to do with events in Sofia – but Masters admits it has given the campaign some added impetus.

He said: “I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing. I can’t recall seeing anything like that before. Clearly you had an organised group of people making Nazi salutes and monkey chants, visible to anyone who was watching.

“And then the (first step of Uefa’s anti-racism) protocol being activated, and then (supporters) streaming out, seemingly nonchalant to the impact they were having, I thought it was terrible.

“I thought that ITV, the players, Gareth and the FA dealt with it in an exemplary fashion.”

No Room For Racism involves the Premier League, the Football Association, the EFL, the Professional Footballers’ Association and anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out.

The Premier League is working to help make reporting of discriminatory behaviour easier, and is developing training for stewards to respond to such reports effectively.

One of the major issues this season from a domestic point of view has been the abuse directed at Premier League players, such as Tammy Abraham, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba, on social media.

Masters insists discussions are ongoing with Twitter and says the social media giant is “really trying” to stamp down on racist abuse on the platform.

He added: “Our fans share the belief racism has no place in football or wider society, but discrimination still exists among a minority.

“We will not tolerate racism in any form and urge anybody who witnesses racist behaviour to report it.”