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Scott Sinclair: Zero tolerance for racists in football

By Andy Muirhead

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 28: Scott Sinclair of Celtic celebrates scoring his teams first goal during the Betfred Scottish League Cup Semi Final between Heart of Midlothian FC and Celtic FC on October 28, 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 28: Scott Sinclair of Celtic celebrates scoring his teams first goal during the Betfred Scottish League Cup Semi Final between Heart of Midlothian FC and Celtic FC on October 28, 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images) /
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Celtic midfielder Scott Sinclair has been subjected to racist abuse from rival supporters for much of his football career, but he now believes that highlighting the abuse should be the way forward rather than ignoring it.

During last season’s 5-1 win over Rangers at Ibrox, Sinclair was subjected to racist abuse by several Rangers fans taunting him with monkey gestures and at this season’s BetFred League Cup Final an Aberdeen fan was videoed yelling out ‘You f****ing black b*****d’ as he was about to take a penalty in their win over Derek McInnes’ side.

And in the wake of such abuse, Sinclair now believes that the football authorities should take a zero tolerance approach to racist abuse.

Speaking to The Scotsman, Sinclair said: “It’s unacceptable, not just in football or sport but in society generally. I think it needs to be kicked out. It needs to stop and to be shown that it’s unacceptable to use racial slurs or to abuse the ethnicity of players.’

“The cup final incident was on social media. I was flicking through some things and came across it. It’s one of those things that just shouldn’t be happening. It’s 2018.”

The 29-year-old added: “This is what I don’t understand. When I tweeted I called them uneducated and that’s what they are. They are uneducated in this area; they have black players in their team so it’s very confusing. Why would someone use that sort of slur towards black players? It’s embarrassing. It’s not acceptable for anyone in society to even think they can use that sort of language, whether they are at a football game or in the street. But it’s always around and it’s such a shame to keep hearing the racial slurs.

“I think there’s more of a spotlight on it now, especially with Raheem Sterling experiencing it down south and speaking out. It seems it’s highlighted more and people are, hopefully, taking more note of the situation. In the past players might have been racially abused and thought: ‘Never mind; I’m not going to say anything because nothing gets done’.

“Hopefully, though, as things start being done we can move forward into a more positive light. I’ve had a lot of support from all sides, all sorts of fans. They know that it’s wrong.”

With a double header coming up for Celtic against Aberdeen and Rangers, Sinclair will undoubtedly play a major role in both games and will – sadly – be on the receiving end of much abuse. Not only because he plays for Celtic, but also because of his skin colour.

“I have been in the game for what seems like a long time. You go and enjoy the occasion. It’s disappointing that we won’t have so many of our fans at Ibrox but you just blank that out and get on with it.”

Do you agree with Sinclair? Should the authorities take a zero tolerance approach towards racism? Do you have any confidence in the football authorities and police to action this?

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