Netherlands captain Georginio Wijnaldum on Thursday called on UEFA to take stronger action against racism and said players subjected to abuse should not have to make a decision on whether to walk off the field in protest or not.
Wijnaldum said he had thought long and hard about leaving the pitch if subjected to racism when the Dutch play at the Puskas Arena in Budapest against the Czech Republic in the Euro 2020 round of 16 on Sunday but was still in two minds.
тАЬI’ve thought about it very carefully. I previously indicated that I would walk off,тАЭ Wijnaldum told a news conference, тАЬbut that was easier to say back then, because I had never really run into that problem.
тАЬAfter that I started to think very hard about it. тАШGini, you will play in Hungary later in the tournament, what will you do if it happens? What if you play against a weaker team and those fans know that and they antagonise you to get you to walk off the field so that you lose the match?тАЩ”
Wijnaldum said the responsibility for action lay with the match officials and European soccer’s governing body UEFA.
тАЬI think I will I go to the referee but, to be honest, IтАЩm not sure what my reaction is going to be in the heat of the moment.
тАЬI’ve never experienced it myself and I hope never to. But if it happens, UEFA must act. They need to realise that if they don’t, they are putting a big responsibility on the players.
тАЬUEFA must protect the players. It shouldnтАЩt be the responsibility of the players,” Wijnaldum added.
тАЬSome players have walked off in the past but if you ask them if they felt supported, I think theyтАЩll say they weren’t.
тАЬIf the referee, or maybe the opponents, jump in, then the signal is stronger. ThatтАЩs what IтАЩm thinking right now but IтАЩm not ruling out walking off the field if something like that happens on Sunday.”
UEFA are investigating alleged racist incidents at the Puskas Arena, where FranceтАЩs Kylian Mbappe was said to have been subjected to abuse in Saturday’s 1-1 Group F draw with Hungary.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
