Wijnaldum Urges UEFA to Stop Matches Where Players Are Racially Abused
Netherlands captain Georginio Wijnaldum has stated that it is UEFA’s responsibility to suspend matches in which players are racially abused.
The Netherlands will face the Czech Republic in the Euro 2020 Round of 16 on Sunday at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, the stadium where Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema were both racially abused during France’s fixture with Hungary, and Wijnaldum said that UEFA must step up in those situations in order to protect players.
“UEFA should be there to protect the players on the pitch, it should take the decision for the players,” Wijnaldum said in a press conference on Thursday.
“UEFA should take a leading role and it should be them who say ‘if this happens, the match is suspended’.”
Wijnaldum added that whilst he had never been subject to racial abuse during a match, he would approach the referee if it were to occur.
“I have never experienced it before and I hope to never experience it,” Wijnaldum continued.
“I don’t know how I would react. In the past, I thought that I would not leave the pitch, but now I think differently. In those moments you have to approach the referee with your teammates and make the decision.”
