Goater: Sterling’s smiles ahead with his reaction
CITY legend Shaun Goater says Raheem Sterling is a ‘winner’ for his reaction to the alleged abuse he received at Chelsea, and hopes by speaking out the winger could have created a watershed moment in football.
Goater was talking at the M.E.N.’s Talking City podcast live event at the National Football Museum, where he was alongside another City hero, Dennis Tueart.
Fans’ favourite Goater played for the Blues between 1998 and 2003, scoring 84 times in 184 appearances.
Sterling was widely praised for speaking out after he received abuse from a section of the Chelsea support in the 2-0 defeat, and his comments about some media coverage of young players have sparked a debate in the game.
Goater said: “As players you just play, you just want to challenge yourself and move up the ladder and the levels you’re playing.
“I have had issues and I take my hat off to Raheem.
“In my journey that’s all I did [smile]. A player in that position you can’t win. The only way you can is to smile.
“Raheem is a winner for smiling it off.
“If you look back at videos of black players through the years, some smile it off. It’s a reflection of the wider world. It shows a huge growth to say we’re having this conversation.”
Goater added that the reaction to the incident is different from previous incidents of alleged racial abuse.
He said: “This is different to previous times. The fact Gary Neville spoke [about a conversation with Sterling on handling abuse] and said he perhaps could have addressed it differently shows me that these conversations will be had. I think it’s a watershed moment. I think it will take time but I take my hat off to Raheem.”