Sterling’s race warning for English football
Premier League must be ready to shut stadiums in battle to beat bigots, says England forward
Raheem Sterling says English football needs to get its house in order along with other European countries if the scourge of racism is to be driven out of the game.
The England winger is backing potential Premier League stadium closure warnings to punish bigots, after calling for tough new curbs at home and abroad following abuse from Montenegro fans.
The Balkan nation could be forced to play matches behind closed doors after being charged by Uefa over monkey chants aimed mainly at England’s Danny Rose. Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin called the abuse “a disaster” and added: “I cannot believe these people still exist.”
Sterling – who pulled at his ears in protest at the abuse from home fans while celebrating his goal in the 5-1 win – says authorities need to consider taking tougher action in England after a spate of attacks. The same rules should apply everywhere, he said, “even if it is our England fans” to “make people think a lot more”. He added: “It should be the exact same. It’s no time to be just cancelling out two people’s season tickets. Even if it is just two people, the whole stadium is getting it or the whole nation is getting it, so it will make people think a lot more.”
Sterling faced alleged racist abuse at Stamford Bridge in December, the week after a Tottenham fan threw a banana skin at Arsenal striker Pierre-emerick Aubameyang. There was also racist chanting in the FA Cup between Millwall and Everton.
Temporary stadium closures have never been enforced in the Premier League, but it and the Football Association were recently tasked by the Government with developing a plan to combat discrimination.
Rose had told Sterling early in the second half of Monday’s euro 2020 qualifier that he was being abused. Monkey chants were heard from a large section of the home support after the Tottenham fullback was booked for a foul moments from full-time.
There were also reports that Callum Hudson-odoi was targeted, and Uefa confirmed yesterday it was investigating a separate case of abuse against him during Chelsea’s Europa League win at Dynamo Kiev a fortnight ago. Piara Powar, the executive director of the anti-discrimination body Fare, has called on the FA to ensure Hudson-odoi, 18, is offered counselling.
Speaking after the match, Sterling said it was a “massive shame” that “silly stuff keeps happening in football in 2019”. He said: “Banning one or two people is not going to change anything. I think there has to be a more serious take on this.”
Montenegro coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic denied hearing any racist abuse, but his country is likely to face sanctions. The minimum
punishment, a partial stadium closure, is likely to be imposed by Uefa when the case is heard on May 16.
Sterling’s goal came after his hattrick on Friday against the Czech Republic. After a winter in which the 24-year-old has called out alleged racism several times, Gareth Southgate has hailed his “maturity” and said he was now one of the squad’s leaders.
The Manchester City forward, who was also playing in October 2013 for England Under-21s when Rose was subjected to monkey chants from Serbia fans throughout a game, said England “knew it was going to be hostile” in Podgorica.
“We know it can be horrible at times,” he said. “I played in the same game as Danny a couple of years ago when he got done in Serbia and we knew it would be a similar atmosphere. We were not really thinking it would be racist. We were thinking it would be more hostile, but it is a real shame.
“It’s a real shame to be getting reminded of what skin colour you are and what you resemble. It’s such a shame that someone else and other people think it’s cool to make fun of you for it. So it’s a real sad time.”
Sterling said it was time “this stuff gets cut out and put to bed” and that his ears-pulled-out celebration “was just to let them know that you are going to need better than that to stop us. Just keep smiling and it is going to need more than just racist chants to stop us”.
The FA reported the abuse to Uefa and yesterday the FA of Montenegro was charged.
“In a multicultural and multiethnic society as Montenegro is, there is not any space for such conduct, which was the feeling most intensively experienced by our guests from England during the previous two official matches they played in Podgorica,” the nation’s governing body said.
Families of players, including Declan Rice and Jadon Sancho, were seated behind the Montenegro bench on Monday night where the taunts were particularly loud.
The FA issued a statement and called the racist abuse “abhorrent” and “unacceptable” as it welcomed Uefa’s decision to take disciplinary action.
Montenegro have also been charged for their supporters throwing missiles and letting off fireworks. England played Croatia in an empty stadium in September after Uefa imposed a two-match stadium ban for a giant swastika being mown on the pitch in a previous match, and for previous offences of racism.