Inter Milan striker, Romelu Lukaku thinks that abuse against football players is getting worse. The-28-years old who is preparing for Belgium’s opening game of the Euros against Russia on Saturday has received racial abuse a number of times, notably when he was the subject of monkey chants from fans in 2019.
Lukaku believes that racism in football right now is at the all-time high.
“I think racism in football right now is at the all-time high. Why? Because of social media now as well,” Lukaku told CNN Sport.
“I understand why people like Thierry Henry are blocking social media because it’s easy, you can track somebody down … The social media companies, they have to do more for me.”
Earlier this year, former Arsenal forward Henry deleted his social media accounts following a spate of online racist abuse aimed at Black footballers.
He slammed social media companies for their inability to hold users accountable for their actions.
“For me, to be honest, I don’t really see progress. I see a lot of campaigns and all that stuff, but really until there is no real action taken,” Lukaku added.
“In Italy, when it happened to me directly, there was something that was done because the Serie A really communicated with me and my team.
“And we basically tried to educate people in Italy that it is not good, because in Italy, it is a beautiful country and I’ve been accepted really well by everybody, home fans, away fans.
“I think when that happened, it changed. That’s what all the leagues should do. They should talk to the players and basically try to start doing things with the players and with their teams.”
Racism in sports is an age long thing. Most black players have suffered abuses of various forms.
The fans should be educated that we are all one before our creator and sincerely should be our brothers keepers. Fines should be metted out to clubs whose fans threw racist words to players. People should be held accountable for their actions and inactions.