Pep Guardiola has delivered a message to Tottenham defender Danny Rose, calling him an “extraordinary” footballer and saying the best way to tackle racism is by “fighting”.
This comes after Rose stated he couldn’t wait to see the back of football after suffering continual racist abuse.
Rose was last subjected to racist abuse while playing for England in their last international against Montenegro. Gareth Southgate’s men ran out easy 5-1 winners.
Talking in his pre-match press conference (Sky Sports news, Friday, 3pm), ahead of the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton on Saturday, Guardiola said he hoped Rose wouldn’t walk away from the game.
“Danny Rose has not to do that. Next Tuesday I will tell him if I see him,” Guardiola said. The two sides are set to meet in the Champions League quarter-finals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“The best way to fight and combat this kind of terrible situation is fighting and being there every day,” Guardiola added. “And of course he is an extraordinary footballer.”
OPINION
Good words here from Guardiola but it’s it’s impossible to put yourself in the shoes of someone else if you haven’t suffered the same abuse. It can’t be too long before we see players walk from the pitch and there’s a growing call for more action to be taken within the game. The only good to come out of the recent incidents is that it’s put the issue front and centre, and it’s impossible for the authorities to carry on dealing with it the way they have, with small fines and threats of stadium closures. It’s hard to imagine how bad it must be to stand in front of a bank of fans and get racist abuse – it’s something no player should ever have to put up with. There was praise in Pep’s press conference today for Raheem Sterling too, who bought 550 tickets for the FA Cup semi-final for pupils at his old school. Perhaps now, some of the worst elements of the tabloid press might get off his back after a string of unnecessary headlines.