- Tuesday, April 23, 2024
By: Keerthi Mohan
Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury was racially abused on social media after his tackle injured Mo Salah on Saturday evening (6).
Choudhury committed a strong tackle against Salah that left the latter limping, and fans of the Egyptian footballer soon took to social media to racially abuse the 22-year-old of Bangladesh-Grenadian heritage.
The messages have been reported to the police and Leicester has demanded “strongest possible action” against the trolls.
A Leicester spokesman said: “Discriminatory behaviour has no place in football or society.
“We will seek the strongest course of action against those responsible. We are appalled by these comments, which the club have reported to the police and to the platform on which they were made.”
Shortly after the match, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp too criticised the tackle and asked Choudhury to cool down his game.
“It’s just a challenge which I really don’t understand,” Klopp said after the game.
“How he can do it, because the ball is far away. The player is full sprint to bring him down without the ball around, for me there is only one colour [card].
“I am probably the only one who sees it like this, but it’s dangerous as hell. I don’t want to cause the boy any problems, but he has to calm down. It’s not the first time, he has to calm down.”
However, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers argued there was no malice in Choudhury’s tackle.
He said: “He’s a very honest kid, Hamza. He gets highlighted, he makes challenges but he’ll gain experience, he’s still very young in his game and he’s learning all the time.
“You always have to protect your players but I didn’t see it as a bad challenge.”
Racism is not new to Choudhury, one of the few British Asian footballers playing in the top four tiers of English football.
In a recent interview, he praised his mother for helping him deal with such difficult situations.
Recalling a match away from the city when he received racist abuse, Choudhury told the BBC: “There were some racism there from the parents. People make you feel uncomfortable. I told the coach and he went over and spoke to the parents and sorted it out.
“We reported it to the FA. My mum is such a strong woman, she taught me how to deal with different situations.”
