Photo courtesy of Raheem Sterling/ Instagram.
Raheem Sterling, an English soccer player on England’s national team, was subjected to monkey chants and pelted with drinks from racist fans at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 2.
According to ESPN, Sterling, who was born in Jamaica, and his team had been taking a knee at games all season. When the team kneeled before the FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Budapest, the racist fans booed. After Sterling scored the game’s first goal, he took off his jersey afterward to reveal a message underneath, paying tribute to his friend, Steffie Gregg. Gregg passed away on Aug. 31.
Gregg had Lupus when she contracted COVID-19, and she’d only had her first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine before catching the coronavirus. Sterling had written in large white letters underneath his jersey, “Love you forever, Steffie Gregg,” as a tribute to his friend.
His gesture was ignored by the racist fans, and several of Sterling’s teammates surrounded him as he was pelted with drinks and plastic cups. ITV reporter Gabriel Clarke said he heard monkey chanting from the crowd. Sterling seemed unbothered by the racist fans as he looked up towards the sky during his tribute to Gregg.
The England Football Association released a statement saying they were requesting an investigation by the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).
“We will be asking FIFA to investigate the matter. We continue to support the players and staff in our collective determination to highlight and tackle discrimination in all its forms.”
The king assisted his teammate Harry Kane in making the second goal, and the English won the match 4-0. He later posted pictures of the game on Instagram with a caption reading, “HEADSTRONG.”