Battler Frank’s my idol
Joel Nouble believes football mu s t be a r a g r e a t e r responsibility to boot out the racists and has backed his brother Frank to lead the way in battling the bigots.
The Livingston striker has spoken of his pride over his elder sibling using his profile as a Colchester United player to stand up publicly and call-out the hate crimes.
Nouble’s sibling continues to be a strong voice down south against the racists and Joel revealed he had been a victim of monkey chants while playing in England.
He said: “Sadly in today’s game there aren’t many p e ople w ho a r e a s outspoken as Frank.
“People won’t voice a strong opinion as they fear the backlash and negative comments that come with that.
“Frank speaks about things he believes in and I’m
proud of that. He was my idol growing up as a kid.
“Ever since he became a professional footballer I believed that if he could do it then why couldn’t I?
“He’s suffered racial abuse and speaks about it but it only ever happened to me once when I played an away game in non-league football.
“I was about to take a penalty and the fans were making monkey sounds.
“At the time I didn’t know what to do. I told my manager and the league but nothing came of it.
“There were no CCTV cameras to look into the crowd and identify where the abuse was coming from.
“There was a game with Haringey Borough where an opposing fan threw a banana at our keeper and the game was stopped – it was crazy.
“When Frank speaks out against the racists I am so proud of him.
“Racial abuse has a habit of being brushed under the rug. Even taking a knee before games has lost its impact. It’s literally four seconds – but too long for some fans who boo it.”