Tottenham Hotspur take on Manchester City tomorrow night in the biggest game of their season so far, the Champions League quarter finals.
However, another issue took up a large portion of Mauricio Pochettino’s press conference today, in the wake of Danny Rose’s comments earlier in the week.
Rose was part of the most recent England EURO 2020 qualifier squad, and played in the away game in Montenegro.
The Three Lions romped to victory in some style, and it should have been a happy occasion for all involved, however a select group of home fans put a stop to that.
Rose, Raheem Sterling, and Callum Hudson-Odoi were all subjected to racist chanting through the game, an ugly side to the sport that is unbelievably still around in 2019.
Pochettino has condemned the actions of these fans, but also states that it is important to talk about victims of racism who do not have a voice, or the platform for change.
He said (Football London): “It was the same when I was a player. The same that’s happening to [Danny Rose] now, it happened to a lot of my team-mates in Argentina, France and Spain. It’s not new and that’s the biggest problem. The situation is not new for us, it happened in the past. It’s true it happens less now, because we’re all together, we’re fighting. But it happened 30 years ago in Argentina – and in Spain and in France. It’s not only that Danny suffered the other day with Sterling and different people. It happens with people in the street and you and me, we don’t know about it and maybe they suffer more than the people we know.
“That’s why all together we need to stop it. It’s not only in football but different areas, different situations. That’s why it’s more painful, people that cannot go and say, ‘I feel bad because some people abused me because I’m different’. That’s the most painful thing. With Danny and Sterling of course we’re very sorry for them but they have the capacity and the power because they’re famous people who can denounce it. How many people on the outside cannot say anything, only can go home and cry? That’s a point to talk about too. That’s a thing that I hate and I’m going to do everything to stop, all that’s in my hands.”
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