Advertisement

Former Tottenham midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng to start anti-racism task force

dimitri kondonis

Kevin-Prince Boateng has vowed to attempt to end racism in football by setting up his own task force in 2020.

The former Tottenham and Portsmouth midfielder is determined to take action amid a string of racist incidents across Europe, the latest seeing Excelsior’s Ahmad Mendes Moreira leaving the field in the middle of his Dutch second division match at Den Bosch on Sunday.

The 32-year-old has been vocal against racism for the greater part of his career and has been spurred to take action after a spate of incidents in 2019.

“I'll do it in 2020. I'm organising my task force with events, involving other players,” Boateng told Italian publication Corriere Della Sera.

BRESCIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 21: Mario Balotelli of Brescia Calcio embraces Kevin-Prince Boateng of ACF Fiorentina prior to the Serie A match between Brescia Calcio and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Mario Rigamonti on October 21, 2019 in Brescia, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)
Boateng is determined to make a stand after himself and Mario Balotelli have suffered racist abuse in recent years. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)

“I'm sick, people don't understand how Balotelli, Boateng or Koulibaly feel when they get home. We are alone.

“I get crazy when I hear comments like 'five million, so much you earn', there are scars on you that you can't erase.”

READ MORE: Shakhtar Donetsk's Taison banned after reacting to racism

READ MORE: Dutch footballers to make joint stand against racism after Moreira abuse

Boateng, now at Fiorentina, faced a similar situation himself while playing a friendly for AC Milan against Pro Patria in 2013.

He picked up the match-ball inside the first half and launched it into the crowd, before removing his shirt and leaving the field as players and officials followed him.

It was one of the earlier instances of players taking action after suffering abuse from the crowd.

Ac Milan's Ghanaian defender Prince Kevin Boateng leaves the pitch during the friendly football match between Pro Patria and Ac Milan in Busto Arsizio on January 3, 2013. Boateng stormed off the pitch after racist chants from a group of fans on Thursday, forcing a friendly away game against fourth-tier club Pro Patria to be suspended. "Shame that these things still happen," the 25-year-old German-born Ghanaian player said on his Twitter account after the match was stopped in the 26th minute when he led his team off the pitch. Boateng picked up the ball, kicked it towards the stands and walked off the pitch in Pro Patria's home town of Busto Arsizio near Milan. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO LINGRIA (Photo credit should read ALBERTO LINGRIA/AFP via Getty Images)
Kevin-Prince Boateng was one of a number of players who suffered abuse in 2013 and walked off the pitch. (ALBERTO LINGRIA/AFP via Getty Images)
AC Milan Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari gestures towards the crowd in Busto Arsizio, near Milan, Italy, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2012. A friendly match between AC Milan and lower division club Pro Patria was abandoned Thursday after racist chants directed at Milan's black players, the latest incident of racial abuse that continues to blight the sport. After repeated chants directed his way, Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng picked up the ball and kicked it at a section of the crowd in the 26th minute of the first half. Boateng then took off his shirt and walked off the pitch with his Milan teammates. Urby Emanuelson, Sulley Muntari and M'Baye Niang were also targeted by the chants. (AP Photo/Emilio Andreoli)
Fellow midfielder Sulley Muntari and teammates Urby Emanuelson and M'Baye Niang were also targeted by the chants. (AP Photo/Emilio Andreoli)

“The situation has worsened [since then],” he added. “At the time we played a friendly match, now such behaviour should be repeated if necessary in a championship match.

“Compared to then, even more money is running and more and more children are watching us. We need more drastic measures.

READ MORE: Balotelli accused of 'arrogance' by own fans despite being racially abused

“Disqualification of the camp, companies must pay for the behaviour of their fans. And then in the stadiums, more cameras should be installed to identify those who perform certain gestures.

“In any case, we players should ensure greater peace of mind for the referee, so that even in the face of pressure from the public in certain circumstances he has the strength to say ‘you don't play anymore.’”

Featured from our writers:

Yahoo Sport UK presents Tailgate