Lukaku predicts radical backlash from players in battle against racism
Romelu Lukaku believes football’s top stars could mobilise to fight racism themselves with too many still unprotected by the authorities.
Inter Milan’s Belgian striker said: “I think it will start. But it really takes one player with an older player to pave the way.”
Lukaku was sent off in April for responding to racists during a Cup game against Juventus. Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jnr, who publicly supported him at the time, was himself abused for a tenth time across two seasons last month.
It sparked outrage and a public show of solidarity from stars such as from Lukaku and Rafa Leao in Italy, Kylian Mbappe in France, Raphinha in Spain and Casemiro in England. Brazil icon Ronaldo and Ivory Coast Chelsea legend Didier Drogba also spoke out.
Asked which older player could pave the way, Lukaku pointed to Holland superstar Clarence Seedorf, who last month called for points deductions and attacked FIFA and UEFA for pledging support but doing little else.
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Lukaku added: “I would say a Clarence Seedorf is the perfect example.
“I think he wants to start something like that. So I think he really takes effort from the players of our generation to come together and speak with UEFA and FIFA and all the other federations of every league to get together and speak about how we can protect those types of problems, because in the last few years there have been too many of these things.
“At one point it was not really seen or heard, but now, because of the cameras all over the stadiums and social media, we players, we see everything, we hear everything.
Real Madrid star Vinicius Jnr was racially abused during their match with Valencia last month (Getty Images)“So sometimes in the game, I might watch a game at home and I might hear what the fans are saying. And how if I can hear it at my house, can the referee not hear it on the pitch?”
A number of players are understood already to have had discussions on how to use their commercial influence to create change. Lukaku pointed to the lack of diversity in decision-making positions, in stark contrast to the situation in Belgium where the country’s federation has been proactive.
“I think you need more diversity in positions of power, at the top,” he said. “That's where you need to start, that's where we need to have diversity. People of colour, put them in the top of every boardroom. And that's when the change will start.
“That's why, for example, in our Belgian federation, that's where they started, they're trying to put in people of colour, different sexualities and stuff like that.
“So that every situation that can happen, whether it is racial or any other form or type of discrimination, can be attacked straight away. If you put people of different colour in positions of power, I think things would get taken care of much faster than now.”
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