Republic of Ireland right-back Cyrus Christie has spoken of his shock at being racially abused by a young fan after a training session in Dublin.
The 27-year-old, who has spoken about racial abuse before, said the abuse came from a child who was with their schoolteacher and led to Ireland players refusing to sign autographs as a result.
“It was a kid, that’s why it shocked me,” he told OTB AM. “It’s come from a kid. You don’t want to blame the kid because it’s come from the parents in my mind.
“What shocked me the most is that obviously he’s there with the teacher. The teacher didn’t say nothing. She allowed it. Unless you educate these people it’s going to keep happening.
“That’s what I find scary. You have older generations and they’re so stubborn... they’re not going to change their mind because if you’ve been on this Earth for 50, 60 years it’s hard to change someone’s opinion.
“You’ve got kids that understand what is going on in this world... they’re growing up in a different time now.
“For a teacher, who is in a high position, who is meant to be a carer, for her not to say anything was what shocked me even more. I don’t know what’s been said around him [the kid] or his education, but it’s a kid who I’m sure has enough longevity in his life to know where he went wrong there.
“Hopefully 20 years from now he doesn’t have the same opinion.”
The full-back, who was promoted to the Premier League with Fulham two weeks ago, said James McClean addressed the issue with the squad afterwards.
“It wasn’t me that brought it up, I took it on the chin and moved on, and James McClean brought it up – his voice in Ireland is probably a lot bigger than mine. He understands the situation because he gets quite a lot of racial abuse as well which no-one ever speaks about or picks up on.
“People might say he brings it on himself, but I’m not sure he does. He’s standing up for what he believes in, his experiences.”
