PFA says it would support players walking off pitch if they suffered racism

Published on: 24 January 2020

The PFA has told Sky Sports News it would support any player walking off the pitch if they have suffered racist abuse and do not feel a referee is protecting them.

The comments were made in response to Sky Sports News' exclusive interview with Romelu Lukaku, who called on footballers to take more responsibility when it comes to racism.

Bobby Barnes from the PFA told Sky Sports News: "I've always held the view that officials and match organisers hold the responsibility for stopping the game.

"Having said that, if players don't feel that the referee is protecting them during a match then we would support any player in walking off the pitch if they have suffered racist abuse."

In recent months there have been a number of high-profile incidents in the Premier League involving Tammy Abraham, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba.

In December, Antonio Rudiger indicated he had faced racist abuse during Chelsea's 2-0 victory at Tottenham, but a Metropolitan Police investigation into the matter was ended due to a lack of evidence.

Peers in the House of Lords have called for tougher penalties to tackle racism in football after a spate of recent incidents.

Partial stadium closures in English football have also been suggested as a possible punishment to combat discrimination.

Kick it Out meanwhile say that more education is needed for supporters and have called on social media companies to do more to crack down on online abuse.

Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants earlier this season in Inter Milan's 2-1 win away at Cagliari after he scored a second-half penalty.

The Belgium international's agent, Federico Pastorello, said he was "ashamed" after Corriere dello Sport's 'Black Friday' headline ran alongside pictures of Lukaku and Roma defender Chris Smalling last month.

Following that incident, Serie A officials controversially unveiled three monkey paintings as a way of demonstrating their campaign to stamp out racism.

Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly, former Juventus striker Moise Kean and AC Milan's Franck Kessie have all suffered racism in Serie A over the past year.

Most recently, Italian police issued a five-year football banning order to the supporter who abused Brescia's Mario Balotelli after the forward kicked the ball towards the stands and was visibly distressed in their clash away at Hellas Verona during November last year.

Source: m.allfootballapp.com

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more