Bale reportedly backing Wales departure over racist abuse

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Issued: 04/09/2021 – 2:00 p.m.

London (AFP)

Welsh captain Gareth Bale is reportedly backing his players if they leave the pitch to protest racist abuse as the Real Madrid forward demanded that serial offenders be kicked out of international football.

Fan behavior is in the spotlight after Hungarian fans subjected England duo Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham to monkey chants and other racist taunts during Thursday’s qualifying in Budapest.

FIFA have opened disciplinary proceedings following the incidents, with England players also being bombarded with paper cups thrown by the crowd and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham calling for “appropriate penalties”.

It has been suggested that the players could leave the pitch in the future if authorities did not tackle racist behavior and Bale would not rule out Wales taking this step.

“If things don’t work out, it will happen,” Bale said ahead of Wales’ qualifying match against Belarus in Russia on Sunday.

“If we felt that we were not being protected and treated in the right way by the governing bodies, and that the only way to get the best response was to leave, I would totally agree.

“The football qualifiers are important, but these issues go far beyond football.

“We haven’t discussed it. But we would have that discussion if that happened and we would all agree because we are a team that stays together and if someone is targeted we will do the right thing.”

Wales has faced racism before on its trips to Eastern Europe, and Bale has said repeat offenders should be banned from international competition.

“I don’t know the seriousness of what to do, but the simplest thing is whether you ban fans from the stadium or if they keep doing it over and over which seems to be what is happening , then you ban the country from the competition, ”Bale said.

“If this country continues to make these horrible gestures then maybe the best thing to do is get rid of them, give them a suspension and I hope they learn their lesson that way.

“It’s frustrating. I don’t know why they are launching these investigations which are taking so long when it is clear to see. Steps must be taken to stop it.”

AFP 2021

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