RIO CALLS OUT THE INJUSTICE LEAGUE
Ex-england star asks why racism and homophobia have been allowed to flourish on football’s terraces
FOOTBALL legend Rio had a childhood marred by racism – he remembers his dad being spat on because he was a black man with a white woman.
Throughout his career he has also received online targeted racial abuse, including the use of gorilla and monkey emojis and the N-word.
“I’m exhausted with racism,” says the dad-of-four. “I don’t want my children to have to deal with this.”
In this heavy-hearted docuseries, Rio tackles three thorny issues that affect football – race, sexuality and mental health.
He wants to kick start conversations and make changes, saying that not enough is done by the football authorities to stamp out problems.
The first episode deals with racism, with football-related arrests for racist and indecent chanting at their highest level, and a massive spike in online racist abuse.
Rio says: “With social media people are comfortable with being racist now. Why are racist videos allowed to be shared?
It’s a crime. It’s not right. Racism is allowed to breed.”
He meets Burnley football fans who discuss when someone flew a ‘White Lives Matter’ banner during a match, in protest at players taking the knee.
And he meets a team at a hatelab, where Twitter hate speech is analysed to prove it has a real life effect on hate crime on the streets.
Rio says: “I think we’re at a disturbing tipping point. Not a week goes by without an incident involving race. I think we’re at a point where something needs to be done.”