Wilfried Zaha says he suffers racist abuse in nearly every game
Written by News on 06/06/2019
Wilfried Zaha says he is subjected to racist abuse in “nearly every game” he plays in.
The Crystal Palace and Ivory Coast winger claims he is called a “monkey and a n*****” regularly during games when discussing the resurgence of discriminatory abuse in football.
Earlier this year, anti-discrimination group Kick It Out highlighted a Twitter user calling Zaha a “diving monkey” after he won a penalty in a Premier League game, as one of a number of discriminatory incidents to occur that weekend.
“Nearly every game I’m called a monkey or a n***** or a whatever,” Zaha told The Jackal magazine. “Imagine if I really got down about that?”
Zaha also says he has little desire to become an anti-racism campaigner, saying: “Yeah, Wilf Zaha’s going to make a speech about racism. [I’m] so over it.
“I don’t know if we’re animals to them or whatever. Why is this okay? Why are you saying these things right next to your five-year-old kid?
“And then, when you leave, what, you’re back to being a normal dad, working a normal job? People mask this stuff.”
The 26-year-old says he has turned to a life coach to help him cope with abuse alongside the rigours of professional football.
“Do you know how tiring it is, being angry?” he said. “It’s a waste of time. There’s so much more to be happy about.
“For a couple of weeks, I’ve been speaking to a kind of life coach. With football, you get to a point where you start to think, ‘Do I still love it, or am I doing it as a job?”
(c) Sky News 2019: Wilfried Zaha says he suffers racist abuse in nearly every game
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