Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has urged the powers at be to BAN teams from international competitions if their fans are found guilty of racism.
In wake of England’s 4-0 victory away to Hungary on Thursday evening, reports detailed how monkey noises were aimed in the direction of Three Lions due Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham.
This is just another report of racism in football, with the issue still being as prevalent as ever, no matter how much people wish to bury their heads in the sand.
Unfortunately, those who are found guilty of such offences are often punished with lenient sanctions like a fine or a stadium closure – it’s clearly not sufficient.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has a better idea. Here’s what he had to say on the matter in full, as quoted in an article published by The Sun.
“It is frustrating. I don’t know why they launch these investigations that take so long. It is clear to see.”
“It has been picked up on camera, by journalists, I really don’t get why there needs to be such a big investigation. It is clear that it happened.”
“It does not matter if it happened a little or a lot. The action needs to be taken to stop it.”
“Whether you ban the fans from the stadium or if they keep repeatedly doing it, which seems to be what is happening, then you ban the country from the competition.”
“I think it kicks it out straight away. If that country keeps making these horrible gestures, then maybe the best thing to do is to get rid of them, give them a suspension and hopefully they will learn their lesson that way.”
There can be no arguing with any point made by the Welshman. We can only hope that FIFA and UEFA learn from their past mistakes and take swift and firm action.