Divock Origi recalls ‘totally breaking down’ after suffering racist abuse as 12-year-old
Twenty-five-year-old insists support for Black Lives Matter ‘was a beautiful sign’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool forward Divock Origi has shared the pain of his first experience of racism in football, which happened when he was still a pre-teen by a parent of an opponent.
The Belgium international of Kenyan descent spoke openly about feeling “belittled” by the abuse he received and highlighted the scale of impact it had on him afterwards.
As part of the Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign, the 25-year-old admitted he has experienced discrimination on account of the colour of his skin “a couple of times.”
The first instance Origi can recall was “when I was younger – I was maybe 12-ish.
“We had a game away and one of the parents racially abused me because I was having a good game and I was playing against his son.
“He was saying very hurtful stuff and I remember breaking down after the game, crying.
“Not knowing where it comes from because it was from a grown man.
“I couldn't understand why that would happen to me; it was horrible.
“I broke down, like totally broke down. I couldn't play anymore because it hurt me right to the core.
“I felt belittled, I felt ashamed. Even my team-mates, just looked on like woah, what just happened? It had quite a big impact on me.”
Origi added that support for Black Lives Matter was “was a beautiful sign” because of the players being so united in kneeling.
He also circled the joy of multi-culturalism in football dressing rooms by walking through Liverpool’s.
“You see Brazilians, you see people from Guinea, you see English people,” Origi said.
“You see everything and it comes together in one dressing room.
“The interaction is very funny! Sadio [Mane] comes in traditional Senegalese clothing, which I love.
“Then you can see Robbo [Andrew Robertson], he's very Scottish and you can see his influences.
“We all come together and speak the language of football, and that's what makes it so beautiful!”
On Africa’s influence on the game, Origi added: “It’s the swagger that we bring to the game. The athleticism. The joy, you know, African culture is very joyful. We like to express ourselves through music, dancing and creativity.
“I think those are all things that we try to bring to the game and it’s what makes the game even more beautiful because it has many different aspects.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments