Sterling request points deductions, closed doors games as racism punishment

There are 960 words in Raheem Sterling’s erudite anti-racism manifesto for football, every one of them hitting the right note as we’ve come to expect from a footballer as skillful in his execution off the pitch as he is on it.

Sterling makes plenty of sensible suggestions to tackle football’s growing problems with racism, including points deductions and playing games behind closed doors.

The Manchester City forward also talks about his own experiences of abuse, from the incident at Chelsea earlier this season, to being the target for racist abuse while playing for England in Montenegro and being assaulted outside City’s training ground in December 2017.

“When I have been racially abused I have not felt really angry, just massively disappointed. It’s crazy that it happens,” he said in The Times, who are leading the campaign for change.

“I normally don’t let it get to me but, on the rare occasions it does, like when a guy kicked me and insulted my mum and my daughter, I try to take my frustration out on the pitch.

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The game after that happened I used my anger to score twice against Tottenham Hotspur. And it’s sad because being black does not make me a minority. I am just a person trying to live my life without being abused.”

Sterling has matured into the most important footballer in this country. He has bravely spoken out on racism, opening the door for others to do the same, and questioned whether some of his treatment in the media has encouraged these attitudes.

Now the 24-year-old is the one coming up with ideas to tackle a stain on the game, penning such thoughtful, articulate articles that shows more willing and clear-minded thinking on the issue than any of those in power have done, as they’ve continued to punish racism with pitiful fines and a staggering lack of action.

So again it falls to Sterling to lead the fight against racism in football. While in the process of trying to land a domestic treble, locked in one of the tightest, tensest title races the Premier League has seen, he is also putting his mind to the game’s battle with the bigots.

Sterling takes his standing in society seriously, he gets that he can be an influence for change, a force for good, and that responsibility rests comfortably on his shoulders. He contributed his ideas to an anti-racism manifesto for football because he knows people are listening to what he has to say now. If his thoughts lead to a positive change then that is an obligation he will embrace.

But football’s authorities should hang their heads in shame that it has been left to a player of still tender years, one of England’s brightest hopes for ending decades of hurt, and a realistic footballer of the year candidate – for what he does with his feet at a weekend – to head the fight against racism.

That a generation of black, Asian and minority ethnic footballers feel the need to instigate change, often guided by Sterling’s sensible and emotional leadership, is a disgrace. That the game’s governing bodies have done so little to tackle the issue that players are basically staging a coup to tackle racism on their own should embarrass the Football Association, the Premier League, UEFA, FIFA and the rest of them.

The bureaucrats will wait for their next plush conference, their next five star feed at a five star hotel, but their inaction and spineless leadership has led to them losing control of the biggest issue confronting football at the moment.

Sterling’s social conscience should never be lost to football, but for now he should be allowed to focus on matters on the pitch. He’s been let down by the authorities, who should read every word of Sterling’s anti-racism manifesto and put it into action, before discovering some of the leadership and backbone that Sterling continues to display.