Rio Ferdinand was just the latest victim in yet another incident of racist abuse
Clubs all around the UK have been looking forward to seeing their fans return to the ground for the last game of the season. However, during Sunday's match between
Wolves and
Manchester United, that moment was marred by an individual who directed a monkey chant at
Rio Ferdinand.
Reacting to the moment on Twitter, Ferdinand responded firmly but, crucially, by placing the emphasis on education and inviting the man to speak to him:
https://twitter.com/rioferdy5/status/1396507409816989700?s=20
Sinead Sweeney, Inspector for the Football Policing Unit West Midlands, responded to say that the individual had been arrested immediately and reiterated that this kind of behaviour cannot and will not be tolerated.
https://twitter.com/SineadWMP/status/1396509660744650752?s=20
West Midlands Police later confirmed that the man charged was a 31-year-old and had been arrested for the racist gesture, once again standing in solidarity by stating, "We will not tolerate football hate crime[s]".
Wolves have themselves issued an apology to the ex-pro and pundit, once again confirming these same details mentioned above, as well as informing they will help "to ensure that the strongest action is taken, including a lifetime ban from our club".
https://twitter.com/Wolves/status/1396523253968027648?s=20
Molineux was also one of a number of grounds where audible boos could be heard before kick-off following players taking the knee, though no official statement has yet been made either from select clubs or the
Premier League.
Rio then went on to speak live on
BT Sport following the match, once again, saying that he would "love to meet up with fella and just educate him a little bit". He went on to add that "punishment without education isn't the way forward", as well as recognising that this particularly ignorant individual does not reflect the majority of the other well-meaning fans in the ground.
https://twitter.com/btsportfootball/status/1396524929785470979?s=20
This morning, Ferdinand also shared a video from BT Sport's
#HopeUnited campaign, which is the broadcaster's new initiative alongside already existing movements like
No Room For Racism,
Kick It Out and
#StopOnlineHate.
https://twitter.com/rioferdy5/status/1396750346039578625?s=20
Ferdinand is just one of many footballing personalities who have joined the movement which aims to deliver important digital resources to help combat abuse, especially in online spaces, and educate people on racism.
It's a terrible shame that so many different approaches must be taken to reinforce what should be such a simple reality: that racism and discrimination of any form are simply unacceptable in society.
