Years after I was targeted by Serbia-Montenegro fans, England’s players endured the same abuse. Time for action and education
Sadness. That was the overriding feeling for me when I was racially abused playing for my country. It was August 2003, I was 24 years old, and just starting out on my international career with Wales. We were playing Serbia-Montenegro away in a Euro 2004 qualifier in Belgrade and I knew beforehand that it was going to be a hostile atmosphere. One or two of the experienced players had marked our cards in that respect. But nothing really prepares you for hearing monkey noises when you’re on a football pitch.
Related: Uefa president decries racist abuse ‘disaster’ during England game
Written by Danny Gabbidon
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/mar/26/racism-montenegro-abuse-england under the title “If you haven’t experienced racism, it’s very difficult to understand it | Danny Gabbidon”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
