Liverpool's Rhian Brewster won an Under-17 World Cup this year. He won the golden boot in the same tournament. 2017 should have been the best footballing year of his life and an exciting platform for the talented striker. However, it has been marred by some disgraceful racist abuse he suffered while playing the game.
In an interview with the Guardian, Brewster revealed that on seven different occasions he or a team-mate have been racially abused. It happened twice while playing for England and once in the U17 World Cup final against Spain, when an opposition player called him "a monkey."
Liverpool submitted an official complaint to UEFA after a UEFA youth league tie against Spartak Moscow last month. Brewster revealed the shocking details of what was said to him during this game:
I got fouled. I was on the floor and I had the ball in my hands. One of their players started saying stuff in Russian to the ref. I said: ‘It’s a foul, man, what you playing at?’ I was still sitting down at this stage. Then their player leaned over me, right down to my face and said: ‘Suck my dick, you nigger, you negro.'
Brewster spoke of the support he has received from within Liverpool, with Steven Gerrard, a coach at Liverpool's academy, offering his assistance and reporting an incident during a youth tie against Sevilla. However, Brewster has called on UEFA to do more to tackle the problem.
I don’t think Uefa take this thing seriously. They don’t really care. That is how it feels anyway, like it has been brushed under the carpet.
Just recently, Raheem Sterling was racially abused prior to a Premier League match for Manchester City and Gardaí confirmed they are investigating racist abuse directed at Cyrus Christie.
Today, Kick it out issued the following statement in response to alleged racist abuse during Millwall's Championship clash with Wolves on Boxing day.
The number of reports received to the organisation from the match is of great concern and Kick It Out expects the relevant authorities to investigate this serious incident as a matter of urgency, so it is concluded in a manner that shows zero tolerance towards racism or any other form of unacceptable discriminatory conduct.
Football needs to be seen to tackle this issue in the strongest possible terms. Hopefully, Brewster's message will register with the authorities governing the game.
You can read the full interview here.
