‘If I’d been sat in the stands, I’d have reacted to Sterling abuse’
CARDIFF City defender Sol Bamba says he would have reacted had he been in the crowd to witness the alleged racist abuse a Chelsea fan hurled at Man City star Raheem Sterling.
Television cameras captured Colin Wing, 60, screaming at Sterling during Chelsea’s 2-0 Premier League win over the reigning champions on Saturday night.
Wing has since revealed he has lost his job and his season ticket at Chelsea as a result of the incident, although –despite apologising to England international Sterling – he denies racially abusing the Man City star.
And Bamba admits the racism storm at Stamford Bridge has been a hot topic of discussion in the Cardiff City dressing room, adding that he would have stepped in had he been in the stands and witnessed the type of abuse Sterling suffered.
“In the dressing room, we’ve been talking about it,” Bamba told The Debate podcast.
“It’s a serious issue we need to address.
“Hopefully it won’t just be the topic of the day or the week. We’ve got an important job as current players because we’ve got a voice.
“Unfortunately with Raheem Sterling, because fans pay high prices to watch games, they think they have got the right to abuse a player and that’s a big problem.
“If I was in the crowd seeing that, I would react. I would 100 per cent react.
“I can’t be sitting here watching a football game and seeing someone being abused in that manner and saying nothing, regardless if he’s black or not.
“That reflects the society we’re in unfortunately. If something like that happens, you’d like to think someone would say ‘you can’t say that’ or ‘you can’t do that.’”
Discussing the wider issue of racism in society, Bamba highlighted the situation of former Arsenal and Tottenham defender Sol Campbell who recently landed his first job in management with Macclesfield Town.
His role with the Silkmen came seven years after he retired from professional football, while the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and John Terry have all landed coaching roles after hanging up their boots.
And Bamba has opened up on the racism that exists in everyday life and how it is a major concern in football.
“On the football pitch I’ve never experienced it fortunately,” added the centre-back. “But racism comes in different forms.
“I’ve experienced being in my car and driving to the shop, and when I parked my car someone said to me ‘you must be a footballer or a drug dealer’ because I’ve got a nice car. It’s offensive.
“If you look at Sol Campbell, he had an unbelievable career and he wanted to go into management. He only got a job with a League Two team, a team at the bottom too.
“You look a Frank Lampard, he jumped straight into Derby, Steven Gerrard, he went to Rangers and you look at John Terry, he became a second assistant manager at Aston Villa.
“So when you’re from the black community, when you see that, you think is there something going on?”
Chelsea suspended four supporters pending investigation following the Blues’ 2-0 win over Man City.