Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling called for tougher penalties in response to fans who yell racist abuse at players during soccer matches.
“I think there need to be stricter punishments,” Sterling said at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival on Tuesday in New York, adding that effective penalties should potentially affect league standings.
“If I go to a football game and I support Manchester United, for example, I don’t want to be the person that lets my team down by saying silly remarks in a stadium,” Sterling said. “If you know your team’s going to get fined or deducted nine points from them winning the league, you’re not going to say these racist remarks.” He has previously called for a nine-point deduction in club standings for a team whose fans participate in racist behavior. In the Premier League, that’s the equivalent of three victories.
Sterling has become a leading voice in condemning racist incidents at games and spotlighting media coverage that he said is often more critical of players of color. He published an Instagram post on the subject last year after a supporter at Chelsea was captured on video yelling a racist remark at him.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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