“You can fine someone but what’s that going to do?”
Raheem Sterling has called for football’s authorities to bring in stronger punishments for racist abuse.
Sterling scored the final goal in England’s 5-1 Euro 2020 qualifying win over Montenegro in Podgorica on Monday, a victory marred by the abuse directed at some of Gareth Southgate’s players.
The England boss confirmed after full-time that he had heard Danny Rose being racially abused after receiving a booking late in the second half, while Callum Hudson-Odoi also indicated that he heard monkey chants from some of the Montenegrin supporters.
Speaking in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Sterling, who also confirmed in a tweet that his goal celebration had been directed at racists in the crowd, questioned the impact in handing out fines for the abuse.
"It's now time for the people that are in charge to put a real stamp on it because you can fine someone but what's that going to do?"
Raheem Sterling calls for stadium bans after racist abuse: https://t.co/l6jm73WJAD pic.twitter.com/zDB8szlE4a
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 25, 2019
“It’s now time for the people that are in charge to put a real stamp on it because you can fine someone but what’s that going to do?” the Manchester City forward said.
“You’ve got to make it harder. You’ve got to punish all the fans so they can’t come to the games and you’ve got to do something that’s really going to make them think twice. Because if their team can’t play with fans it’s going to be difficult for them and make them think twice about it.
“I can only, we can only, the FA can only do so much. We’ve got to leave this to the people in charge to take a proper stance on it. Just banning one or two people is not going to change anything, even to our fans I’d say the exact same thing.”
