Chelsea striker Diego Costa has spoken to the club’s official website about the issue of equality in football and removing all forms of discrimination in the beautiful game.
Chelsea’s good result against Paris Saint-Germain yesterday was overshadowed after a few fans racially abused a black man on the Richelieu-Drouot station in Paris and prevented him from entering the train. Costa however felt that Chelsea can set the standards for equality considering the size and stature of the club.
The Spaniard said, “Ita s very important, especially because of the magnitude of the club. Chelsea can set an example with regards to equality within the game.
“I know the club has been doing a lot of work in order to promote equality and take away discrimination. A lot of hard work has been done and ita s hugely important.”
“We work every day and we know we are a big example to children around the world.
a Ita s important to remember that we are all learning ourselves because we are not born with lots of knowledge. Children look up to us and thata s where they learn their traits from, so we are very important in the process.a
He also added that stopping racism alone isn’t enough as there are other forms of discrimination out there as well, “Ita s a delicate issue, not just racism, but discrimination as a whole,a said the 26-year-old. “It doesna t matter about your social status or whether you have good or bad financial conditions.
“Ita s important we put a lot of work into it because the more people speak about these issues, the more chance there is of it getting out into the public domain.
“People that suffer from discrimination shouldna t stay quiet, because speaking about it will help them become stronger.
“As a community, as people, we must look at discrimination with real care, because people suffer from it unnecessarily and ita s important we help one another.”
With the kind of incident happening yesterday, Chelsea will want to be sterner in punishing any such potential incidents in the future if they do happen.
The club had released a statement after the incident in France, a Such behaviour is abhorrent and has no place in football or society. We will support any criminal action against those involved, and should evidence point to involvement of Chelsea season-ticket holders or members the club will take the strongest possible action against them, including banning orders.a