Chelsea striker shares what Kane told him about potential racist chants

There have been multiple unsavoury incidents over the past couple of years where the crowd has hurled racist abuse at some players.

These incidents have occurred at the highest levels of the game including in international football as well as in some of the top leagues in the world (BBC).

Football’s governing bodies have sanctioned several teams and forced them to play in front of empty stadiums in an effort to stamp racist abuse out of the game.

According to the new UEFA protocols, a three-step procedure is to be followed if players are subject to racist chants from the stands.

The first two steps would involve the official stopping the game temporarily while an appeal is sent out over the PA system for the abuse to stop. If neither works, the officials have been instructed to stop the match.

However, Tammy Abraham has revealed that England captain Harry Kane has led a conversation about the issue in a team meeting on Monday in which the Spurs striker made it clear that the team is prepared to walk straight off the pitch if any of the players feel they are being subjected to racist abuse.

Speaking to the Guardian, Abraham said: “We’ve had meetings about it [racist abuse from the crowd] and we’ve touched base on how to deal with the situation. Harry Kane even said that if it happens and we’re not happy with it, we all come off the pitch together.

“It’s a team thing. Don’t isolate one person. Harry did ask the question about instead of going through the three steps – if we decide that we want to stop the game, no matter what the score is – if we’re not happy as a team we’ll decide whether or not to stay on the pitch.”

Spurs Web Opinion

If any of the England stars are subject to racist chants, then it absolutely makes sense to leave the field of play instead of waiting to see if the announcement over the PA system works. Walking out of the pitch will send a strong message to the administrative authorities who will be forced to be stringent with the punishment handed out to those who engage in this type of behaviour.

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