Players don't trust the system anymore- Gareth Southgate on racism

Raheem Sterling and Danny Rose were racially abused during the international break.

The environment around the England football team is tense as there have been reports of chronic racism. One such widespread example is Raheem Sterling who, time and again, stood up against the racists. But now, the head coach Gareth Southgate reveals that some players in the camp are feeling that the system does not support them.

The players are of the view that there is no use of fighting or reporting racism on their own as they do not have faith in the system.

The 5-1 victory over Montenegro for England in their UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers was in the limelight for all the wrong reasons. Danny Rose along with Raheem Sterling were racially abused as the governing body UEFA is investigating the incidents.

"We spoke to them a lot before the summer and they were very clear, they wanted to play their football," said Southgate to the ESPN reporters when asked if he would take players off the pitch if they face racial abuse.

"Some of them didn't even want to report things because they don't have faith that things will be dealt with appropriately or they would make a difference."

Sterling had called for strict actions such as playing the enclosed games to force them to stop these activities.

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Southgate has urged to prevent the abuse by educating the young generation, teaching them the right thing.

"I can't discuss sanctions," Southgate added. "What is the right sanction? Is it a big fine? Is it the closing of sections of a stadium? What is honestly going to make any difference?"

"The difference for me is educating people. ... Kids are born into the world and they don't have a bone of malice in their body, so it is what we impose on them as adults. We can criticise authorities for sanctions, but the problem is deeper than sanctions."

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Not so long ago, Southgate had lauded the way Raheem Sterling had tackled the racial abuse against him.

In the next international break, England will face the Netherlands on 7th June 2019 in the UEFA Nations League semi-finals.