Eden Hazard has expressed support towards Raheem Sterling after the Manchester City star was subjected to racist abuse during the Blues’ 2-0 win against the reigning Premier League champions on Saturday.
This is not the first time that the England international Sterling has been subjected to racist abuse. A man was arrested in December 2017 for allegedly racially abusing him.
According to a report published by Goal, 60-year-old Colin Wing, the man accused of racially abusing Sterling, has denied that his insults were racist in nature. Wing, however, does not deny that he did berate the player. Since the incident, Wing of South London has reportedly had his season ticket suspended and lost his job following a joint investigation conducted by Chelsea and the Metropolitan Police.
If Wing is found guilty of racial abuse, he is likely to be banned from ever attending a Chelsea match again.
Although FIFA and the FA have worked hard throughout the years to curb racism in football, the harsh reality is that it still happens and that is rather unfortunate. Hazard has since shown his class by throwing his full support behind Sterling.
According to a report published by The Standard, the Chelsea winger said: “I support the player because, to be fair, Sterling is a fantastic player. I think it’s under investigation, so we don’t know what can happen. They (the abusers) are called fans but for me, they’re not fans. I think the proper Chelsea fans sing for Chelsea and just enjoy the game.
“I fully support Raheem and this type of racism can’t be in the stadium anymore. If he has something to say he will say it. As a player, if I’m in this situation I will say something. It happens sometimes in football, not just in England but everywhere, and it needs to stop.”
Sterling, meanwhile, took to social media to express his unhappiness towards the treatment which black players get from the media compared to their white counterparts.
