Tottenham’s Premier League match against Chelsea was temporarily suspended after the Blues defender Antonio Rudiger appeared to be racially abused by Spurs fans on Sunday.
Referee Anthony Taylor decided to temporarily halt the match at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in the second-half after fans aimed monkey chants towards Rudiger.
Garry Neville has urged the FA to stop fans directing monkey chants at players. And the former Manchester United defender blamed Britain’s two main political parties, the Conservatives and Labour, for allowing racism issues.
“The Premier League has a problem with racism, and the league needs to act. But it seems to me that they are hiding behind the Football Association in this matter. They constantly refer such cases to the FA.” Neville told Sky Sports.
“We observe that leaders of the country’s leading associations are accused of fueling racism and accepting racism in their parties. If this is accepted in the upper offices, then this is not an occasion for a small conversation, it is an occasion for discussion at the highest level.” Neville added.
Former England national team players Ashley Cole was abused at the Bernabeu during a 2004 friendly against Spain in Madrid.
“We saw an incident in which one person suffered, but this is a problem of a much higher level. Maybe we have to empower the players to walk off the pitch and stop the entertainment while it is happening. That is the only way I can see it happening.” Neville said.
“I did not walk off the pitch when Ashley [Cole] was abused 15 years ago, and you might argue that now it’s okay for me to sit here in my ivory tower of a commentary box and suggest that players should walk off the pitch.
“Ultimately I would be ashamed of myself for not doing (it) 15 years ago as I would be absolutely proud of players for doing it now to empower them to think, do something about it and take it into your own hands.” he added.
