O’neill to check on Rose’s mental state after racism ordeal

LONDON: Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill plans to give Danny Rose as much time as possible to recover from his racism ordeal before deciding whether the England Under-21 defender is in the right frame of mind to play in tomorrow’s derby against Newcastle.

Rose was forced to endure sickening racist taunts from Serbian supporters during England Under21s’ 1-0 win in a European Championship play-off tie in Krusevac on Tuesday and has admitted to being shocked by the experience.

The 22-year-old, who is on loan at Sunderland from Tottenham, was eventually sent off after the final whistle for kicking the ball away in frustration after 90 minutes of constant abuse.

He returned to Sunderland on Thursday and O’Neill will sit down for a chat with the left-back to judge his mental state before making a final call on his participation in a potentially stormy clash with local rivals Newcastle.

“I will give him the opportunity just to let things lie for a day or two and I will speak to him closer to the time and see what frame of mind he is in,” O’Neill said on Thursday.

“You are hoping that young players who might not have experienced things like that there before can respond positively.

“I am sure he will do and hopefully at some stage or another, he will take it in his stride.

“But I would just really point out that everybody here at the football club, and I am quite sure at his own football club, is very much on his side.” As well as the racist taunts, Tuesday’smatch also featured Rose, his England team-mates and their coaching staff becoming embroiled in an ugly brawl with their Serbian counterparts on the pitch after the final whistle.

Both national associations have since been charged by UEFA in connection with the incident with the Serbian FA, to the astonishment of their English counterparts, having branded Rose’s behaviour “inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar”.

O’Neill revealed Rose remains furious with his treatment and the Sunderland boss added his voice to the condemnation of the shocking scenes.

“He is naturally disappointed with the state of affairs, and somewhat angry as well, but I am sure there will be a lot more said about it in the next few days,” O’Neill added. — AFP