Raheem Sterling: Manchester City forward says newspapers ‘fuel racism’ in football

Lord Ouseley, the founder of anti-discrimination body Kick it Out, has called for leaders in football to deal with racism “at the top”.

“What happened at Chelsea shows what is still going on in football,” he told BBC Sport.

“Where is [Premier League chief executive] Richard Scudamore, where is [FA chairman] Greg Clarke, where is Chelsea’s chairman [Bruce Buck] – they should have been talking out last night and it has to be dealt with at the top.

“We do not have any leadership at the top of the game to speak out, they just rely on Kick it Out.

“The print media often targets all footballers, not just black players, but we have already made comments about the way Raheem Sterling has been treated differently by the media.

“He has received bad press over the last few years because of his lifestyle and clearly there are issues from potential stories adding to prejudice and I have every sympathy for him.

“It was awful, but it didn’t appear to me that Raheem told the referee in the first place. Players know if they are abused in any way they have to tell the referee. All players know the referee is in charge and has a duty of care, and the referee can remove those people.”

Many players and pundits have been on social media to condemn the alleged racist abuse aimed at Sterling, with Match of the Day host Gary Lineker calling it “despicable”.

“Are we going to continue to allow this type of racist behaviour go on?” asked former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand, while Match of the Day pundit Ian Wright said “the bad old days are back”.

Former England and Arsenal Women forward Alex Scott told BBC 5 live: “No-one should expect any form of discrimination, racism and the fact that no matter how strong of a character you are, you can only take so much, so for him to come out now and speak, enough is enough.

“No-one should have to go through what he’s been going through. No one.”

On Sunday, an FA spokesperson said: “We take all allegations of discrimination extremely seriously and will work with the clubs and the relevant authorities to ensure this matter is dealt with appropriately.

“We strongly condemn all forms of discrimination and encourage all fans and participants who believe that they have been the subject of, or witness to, discriminatory abuse to report it through the appropriate channels: the FA, our county FAs or our partners Kick It Out.”

The Premier League also issued a statement, saying: “The club and the police are rightly investigating this serious matter.

“The Premier League and the clubs are opposed to all forms of discrimination in football and if anyone is found to have racially abused a Premier League player they deserve to be punished. We will support any action taken by the club or the authorities.”