Sterling storm
Manchester City forward tells police that fan ‘racially abused’ him at Stamford Bridge England player accuses media of fuelling prejudice as leading figures demand action
Raheem Sterling has told police that he believes a supporter at Stamford Bridge racially abused him at the weekend.
The Manchester City forward spoke to the Metropolitan Police after an incident during the first half of Saturday’s match in which a fan in the Matthew Harding Stand verbally assaulted him.
According to reports, Sterling confirmed allegations made against the fan. The player then took to social media to criticise the media for fuelling the kind of prejudice he was alleged to have suffered.
Chelsea are working to identify the man and have requested video and audio footage from BT Sport, who broadcast the game. The club will also use their own cameras to try to determine whether the abuse was racist.
If found guilty, the man will be banned for life from Stamford Bridge, where Manchester City suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season. Chelsea could still decide to ban him on the basis of probability, even if he denies using racist language.
The Sterling incident came a week after a Tottenham Hotspur supporter threw a banana at Arsenal’s Pierre-emerick Aubameyang in the north London derby. Police Scotland have been given footage that shows around 20 fans in the main stand at Tynecastle shouting abuse at Motherwell’s Christian Mbulu, as the substitute warmed up on the touchline against Hearts.
Lord Ouseley, the founder of Kick It Out, questioned why the Premier League and Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck had remained silent on the Sterling issue. But it was Sterling who made the strongest statement by highlighting the different coverage he feels young black footballers receive in comparison to their white counterparts.
The England forward used a picture of a story that had appeared on Mail Online last January about his club-mate, Tosin Adarabioyo, under the headline, “Young Manchester City footballer, 20, on £25,000 a week splashes out on mansion on market for £2.25m despite having never started a Premier League match”. He also referenced a story from October about City’s teenage midfielder, Phil Foden, buying a house which had carried the headline, “Foden buys new £2m home for his mum”.
In a message on Instagram, Sterling wrote: “I just want to say, I am not normally the person to talk a lot, but when I think I need my point heard I will speak up. Regarding what was said at the Chelsea game, as you can see by my reaction I just had to laugh because I don’t expect no better.
“You have two young players starting out their careers – both play for the same team, both have done the right thing, which is buy a new house for their mothers who have put in a lot of time and love into helping them get where they are. But look at how the newspapers get their message across for the young black player and then for the young white player. I think this is unacceptable, both innocent, have not done a thing wrong, but just by the way it has been worded.
“The young black kid is looked at in a bad light. Which helps fuel racism an[d] aggressive behaviour. So for all the newspapers that don’t understand why people are racist in this day and age all I have to say is have a second thought about fair publicity an[d] give all players an equal chance.”
Ouseley, the chairman of Kick it Out, said: “We have already made comments about the way Raheem Sterling has been treated differently by the media. Raheem Sterling has received bad press over the last few years because of his lifestyle and clearly there are issues from potential stories adding to prejudice, and I have every sympathy for him. What happened at Chelsea shows what is still going on in football.
“Where is [Premier League chief executive] Richard Scudamore? Where is Chelsea’s chairman [Bruce Buck]? They should have been talking out last night and it has to be dealt with at the top. We do not have any leadership at the top of the game to speak out. They rely on Kick It Out.”
Despite the fact that his statement would suggest he heard the abuse shouted at him, it is unclear whether Sterling was fully aware of the language aimed at him.
“Players know if they are abused in any way they have to tell the referee,” added Ouseley. “It was awful. All players know the referee is in charge and has a duty of care, and the referee can remove those people. It didn’t appear to me he told the referee in the first place.”
The Football Association responded with a statement that said: “We take all allegations of discrimination extremely seriously and will work with the clubs and the relevant authorities to ensure this matter is dealt with appropriately. We strongly condemn all forms of discrimination and encourage all fans and participants who believe that they have been the subject of, or witness to, discriminatory abuse to report it through appropriate channels.”
As part of their investigations, Chelsea will take statements from the stewards who were working in the same area as Sterling’s abuser, whom they appeared to talk to towards the end of the game before allowing him to watch the closing stages.
Former Manchester United fullback Patrice Evra was among the players to express their dismay at Sterling’s abuse. Evra tweeted: “How does this happen still in 2018?! It doesn’t matter what colour your skin is, we need to be kind to each other.” Gary Lineker praised Sterling. “It’s brave and right that @ sterling7 speaks out,” he tweeted. Rio Ferdinand wrote: “Are we going to continue to allow this type of racist behaviour [to] go on??? All for kicking a ball!”