Gary Neville says Raheem Sterling asked him for advice on handling criticism during Euro 2016

Gary Neville on Monday night claimed white players are given an easier ride than black players by the media when they make it into the England squad.

Sky pundit Neville said: ‘I think over the last few days I’ve heard people mention “Well, yeah, Gazza got stick and David Beckham got stick and Wayne Rooney got stick” and I lived closely to those two lads in terms of witnessing it.

‘It was horrific the stick, the vilification they got when it was bad or when they made mistakes. But, you know, when it was good for them they were hero-worshipped. When it’s good for Ashley Cole or Raheem Sterling they can’t get the hero worship. 

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Gary Neville spoke on Monday Night Football about his experiences with Raheem Sterling

Sterling came in for excessive criticism whilst playing for England at Euro 2016

Sterling came in for excessive criticism whilst playing for England at Euro 2016

RAHEEM STERLING STATEMENT 

Raheem Sterling posted a statement on Instagram on Sunday morning addressing the incident at Stamford Bridge. It read: 

‘Good morning. I just want to say I am not normally the person to talk a lot but when I think I need my point to (be) heard I will speak up.

‘Regarding what was said at the Chelsea game as you can see by my reaction I just had to laugh because I don’t expect no better.’

Sterling also said that he believed black players and white players were not treated equally by the media, including the Daily Mail and Mail Online, and that he believes this helps ‘fuel racism and aggressive behaviour’. 

‘Even when you look back at my time with England when Rickie Lambert scored that goal or when Jamie Vardy came into the team. “Oh, he’s one of ours”.

‘It wasn’t like that when Danny Welbeck came into the squad or say when Marcus Rashford came into the squad.’

Reflecting on the alleged racist abuse against Raheem Sterling which led to Chelsea banning four supporters following Saturday’s home match against Manchester City, Neville said: ‘Raheem Sterling, what he did yesterday with his Instagram post has forced us to take it on – so that’s a start. It’s not undertones, it’s blatant. He’s been carrying this now for years. This is not just a Chelsea fan. To perform like he has done is a miracle, almost.

‘Raheem came to see me one on one during Euro 2016. Pre-tournament, he was getting absolutely battered. Getting so much stick, we were aware of that. 

‘Fans were onto him, the media was onto him. Asking a lot of questions about him. It was so vicious, he felt so targeted, he didn’t know what to do about it. It then continued into the tournament, into the stadiums.

‘He walked in and started to download on me – why was this happening? Why was this so accepted?

‘I saw someone that has a great mentality and is tough but is also vulnerable in terms of how does he deal with it, how does he cope with it, how does he come out of it? Really, as a coach, reflecting on it, I didn’t really know how to deal with it. I went into what would be protective mode.

‘One of my most important players, how’s he getting ready for the next match? “Raheem, you’re a great player, we love you to bits” which, to be fair, we did.

‘As a coaching staff, he played nearly all of the games for us. You’re trying to patch up to the point where you’re never really dealing with the underlying issue and maybe you never would be able to in that one session.

‘Reflecting now, maybe we brushed it aside a little bit. It’s happened to players before you but really, deep down, understanding that there was a tonal difference to the attacks that he was getting compared to others.

‘In that tournament Harry Kane, who is the blue-eyed boy of English football, was having a difficult time and it was portrayed because he was on corners. Raheem was having a difficult time and it was because of more personal reasons at times and the language used towards him was difficult.

Footage appeared to show the man in a blue top calling Sterling a 'f****** black c***' and others hurled  vile but apparently non-racial insults during Manchester City's clash with Chelsea 

Footage appeared to show the man in a blue top calling Sterling a ‘f****** black c***’ and others hurled vile but apparently non-racial insults during Manchester City’s clash with Chelsea 

‘I don’t think he could understand. I think he was asking me why this was happening.

‘Post-tournament, we got knocked out and obviously it was bad from a football point of view. The abuse that he received, particularly in the media, beyond that tournament and the language that was used against him…

‘I started to think about whether it happened to anybody while I was playing with England and the lad I used to sit next to in changing rooms for 10 years – Ashley Cole.

‘Out of the golden generation he was the only one I’d say was world class in his position. He’s had to escape this country. He’s almost like a football refugee, seeking asylum to get away from the way in which he’s been treated.

Neville has thought about what he could have done differently to help Sterling 

Neville has thought about what he could have done differently to help Sterling 

‘The evidence is actually quite heavy when you start to look at it in terms of the appreciation of what would be the black players versus the white players who play for England.

‘I’m part of the problem because I’ve witnessed this and I’ve sat there and been in changing rooms and I’ve sat there with coaches and I’ve seen a lot of this.

‘I grew up in the mid-80s in the north of England where you were surrounded by racism or racist attitudes.

‘It has changed a lot in the last 40 years, don’t get me wrong, but nowhere near far enough.’

The England forward was heavily criticised two years ago before, during and after Euro 2016

The England forward was heavily criticised two years ago before, during and after Euro 2016

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