LEICESTER City forward Ademola Lookman has given his backing to the Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign.
Lookman, born in England to Nigerian parents, has revealed his experience with online racist abuse and highlighted the importance of education in schools while calling for more accountability.
Leicester City showed support for the No Room For Racism campaign at Saturday’s fixture against Manchester United.
All Premier League matches between 16 October and 24 October dedicated to the anti-racism initiative.“We live in an uneducated world where some people unfortunately don’t know about equality, and it’s really sad to see,” Lookman, 23, told the Leicester City website while discussing the No Room for Racism initiative.
“We have roles as footballers to help change this, but there’s so many other people who can also play their part too in helping to create change.
“I don’t think everything should be on the players to do, horizons need to be broadened because like I say there’s so much that we can all do together.”Lookman, who is on loan at Leicester from RB Leipzig, disclosed that he had been the subject of racial abuse during his career and called for change.
“I was shocked in a sense to know there’s people out there who actually think that way and believe what they say,” he noted.
“It’s not right for somebody to hide behind a screen and be able to send all sorts of messages and get away with it.
“The reason a lot of people post-racial abuse online is because of years of being uneducated.“We have to get the message into classrooms at an early age because children can then learn over time about history, people and different races and backgrounds.
“People should definitely be held more accountable for their actions, especially those who are old enough to know what they’re doing and can make decisions for themselves.”
Racism has been a subject of concern in sports for years, with players of colour often abused by fans of rival clubs or even fans of their own clubs after a defeat.
