Abuse is ‘so sad’

FORMER Chelsea player Mark Stein has branded this week “sad” and “depressing” for the club.

The alleged racial abuse of Raheem Sterling last Saturday and anti-Semitic chanting during the Blues’ Europa League tie in Hungary on Thursday have dragged Chelsea’s name through the mud.

Stein, 52 (below) who played 63 times for the club, said: “If you ask 90 per cent of footballers I think they would tell you that racism has never gone away – not just in football but in society as a whole.

“We’ve had two or three incidents in the past month that leave a bitter taste in the mouth.

“It’s sad and unbelievable that we’re still have these kinds of conversations.”

Stein’s parents fought against apartheid in South Africa alongside Nelson Mandela before moving to the UK.

He said: “Some of the abuse when you played then was unbelievable but the pitch was probably the safest place you could be as a black player in the 70s and 80s.

“I look at what has happened this week and it’s clear that fight still has not been won.”