‘Football needs a black Mourinho'
AC Milan's Ghana international Kevin-Prince Boateng (R) and his girlfriend Melissa Satta leave the FIFA headquarters in Zurich yesterday. Photo:
AFP
AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, who led a walk-off in a club friendly in January after being racially abused, believes the game needs to be more multi-cultural.
The Ghanaian player has since decided his protest in the match against Italian fourth-tier side Pro Patria was not the right thing to do but, ahead of a meeting with FIFA president Sepp Blatter, Boateng said drastic changes were needed.
"If it's more multi-cultural, it gets more people and more countries involved and these things can help," former Portsmouth player Boateng was quoted as saying by the BBC on Thursday.
"Let's hope that soon there's going to be a black (Jose) Mourinho and Pakistani (Pep) Guardiola," he added in reference to Real Madrid coach Mourinho and former Barcelona manager Guardiola.
Harsher penalties are also needed for racist players, said Boateng.
"A player who does something wrong, who is racist, can never play for the club again or can never play in the country again," he added.
"These are the things that hurt and I think this is the right way to go. (It needs to be) very strict, very hard and make it very clear. Money doesn't really hurt, it's not the subject that can hurt you so much."
English football's reputation has suffered from players being accused of racism with Chelsea's John Terry fined 220,000 pounds ($334,000) by the FA in September for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in October 2011.
Liverpool's Luis Suarez was fined 40,000 pounds in December 2011 for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.
Italy has also had its share of bad publicity from
racism.
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