Watford striker Andre Gray claims England’s black players are disliked by ‘half the country’ and says footballers must keep protesting ‘until something changes’
Watford striker Andre Gray believes footballers have a big role to play in the fight against racism, saying protests should continue ‘until something changes’.
The recent shocking death of George Floyd, an African American man, at the hands of a white police officer while in custody has sparked fury and protests around the world.
Gray wants anti-racism protests to continue
While the incident occurred in America, Gray insists racism is rife in the UK – claiming England’s black players are disliked by ‘half the country’ due to the colour of their skin – and he wants football stars to keep using their high-profile status to help try and effect change in attitudes and behaviours.
He told talkSPORT’s James Savundra: “Us as black players, we make a lot up of the football world. We’ve got some of the best players that are playing for England.
“So we’ve got a platform to do it. Again, things have to change because, especially the boys that are playing for England, for me they get discriminated a lot.
“I feel like half the country does not even like them because of the colour of their skin.
Raheem Sterling has spoken out about racial abuse in the past
“It’s that same thing, people will resort back to racism when things are not going well when someone misses a chance or whatever. When it’s going well, you’ll be the hero.
“That’s what needs to change. We need to keep our foot on the gas and keep pushing it.
“If it means not playing, then so be it because at the end of the day I don’t think England would be the team it is now without black footballers. So we’ve got the power now and we need to push it.”
Borussia Dortmund and England star Jadon Sancho revealed a ‘Justice for Floyd George’ message after scoring the first of three goals in a 6-1 win over Paderborn last weekend.
When asked if he would consider copying Sancho’s celebration to spread the anti-racism message, Gray said: “Yeah, 100 per cent. Look, we can’t take our foot off the gas, we need to keep speaking up about it, keep exposing it.
“When things are not right, they need to be said, they need to be put out there otherwise it’ll get brushed under the carpet.
“The way it is now, we’re going to have to keep protesting and protesting and protesting until something changes.
“I think us as footballers, we can keep pushing that, as well, and keep making people aware of it and that we’re not going away.”
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