The opening weekend of the English Premier League was marred by the ugly spectre of racism, leading new Match of the Day (MOTD) pundit and former England captain Wayne Rooney to call for severe penalties on his BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show.
During Bournemouth’s 4-2 defeat at Anfield, Antoine Semenyo was allegedly subjected to racial abuse from a Liverpool spectator, leading Rooney to call for severe penalties, including points deductions, to combat racist abuse in football.
Rooney told of a personal incident while managing DC United in Major League Soccer (MLS), and explained how the emotional toll of racism affected his players.
“I had it in DC with one of my players who got racially abused and he was crying on my chest. I was holding him as he was crying on my chest,” Rooney explained.
“I don’t think people realise – they say it as a throwaway line that they think has no meaning behind it, but it hurts people. For people to see that and understand, there has to be more done to stop it.”
The former Red Devil said that any meaningful change would have to require severe punishment, and the best way to prevent incidents of racism is through education.
He said: “There needs to be a strong campaign for society, for children, parents, and grandparents to be educated.”
He added that clubs must bear more accountability along with responsibility to keep fan behaviour in check saying: “You have to hit the clubs because that’s the only way it will stop. If there is ignorance, the fans will still do it.
“You have to hit the clubs by taking off points or hit them in the pocket and take money away from them. Otherwise, it will keep on going.
“Hopefully, the right people sit down with the right organisations to try and get something serious in place.”
Stewards at Anfield ejected a 47-year-old man over the incident and he was arrested on suspicion of abusing Semenyo. He has been conditionally bailed and banned from attending matches, Merseyside police said on Monday.
Insideworldfootball.com
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