Racism in football: “The game needs a black Mourinho” – Kevin-Prince Boateng
Kevin-Prince
Boateng has stated that greater multiculturalism in football, will help
eradicate racism from the game.
The AC Milan midfielder,
walked off the pitch after he suffered racist abuse, in a friendly game against
fourth-tier side, Pro Patria in January. He met with FIFA president, Sepp
Blatter on Thursday, to discuss the subject of racism in football and was of
the opinion that the sport needs certain changes.
“If
it’s more multi-cultural, it gets more people and more countries involved and
these things can help,” Boateng told BBC. “Let’s hope that soon there’s going
to be a black [Jose] Mourinho and Pakistani [Pep] Guardiola.
“A player who does something wrong, who is racist, can never play for the club
again or can never play in the country again. These are the things that hurt
and I think this is the right way to go. [It needs to be] very strict, very
hard and make it very clear. Money doesn’t really hurt, it’s not the subject
that can hurt you so much.”
The 26-year-old
also admitted that he has been a target of racial abuse for a long time, but
was too apprehensive to take a stand.
“Racism can be
found on the streets, at work and even in football stadiums,” he said. There
were times in my life when I didn’t want to deal with this subject. I tried to
ignore racism, similar to a headache that you know will go away if you just
wait long enough. But that was (a) misconception. Racism does not go away. If
we don’t confront it, it will spread.”
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