Maro Itoje tells rugby union not to make same mistakes football has in wake of ‘abysmal’ racism in Bulgaria

Maro Itoje has told rugby union not to make the same mistakes football has made over racism.

Black players within Gareth Southgate’s England squad were subjected to racist abuse from Bulgarian fans in Sofia on Monday that shamed football and reminded everyone watching of how much more is left to do to combat such unacceptable views across the globe.

England as a country has its own problems with racism, as demonstrated by the incidents earlier this year involving a Chelsea fan verbally abusing Raheem Sterling and a banana being thrown in the direction of Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the north London derby with Tottenham.

Itoje has spoken out before regarding diversity in sport and the wider world that surrounds it, so it is no surprise when he takes an immediate hard-line approach against what happened in Bulgaria.

“It’s appalling to be honest. It’s just appalling,” said Itoje. “It’s abysmal. You would think that they wouldn’t have to go through that.”

Arsenal fan Itoje enjoys his football, which is why he is all the more concerned about the scenes witnessed at the Vasil Levski National Stadium. But he is old enough at 24 to remember when racism wasn’t a regular part of the round-ball game, when rivalries came without the vilification of players and fans for the colour of their skin.

“It sends a poor message about the game of football,” he said. “It’s a shame because it’s such a beautiful game and it’s being tarred by people with racist thoughts and racist minds. It’s terrible that they have to experience that when they just want to go out and play the game they love. I’m very happy that for the most part in rugby there’s a different climate and that kind of stuff doesn’t happen.”

Itoje added: “I’m sure, a couple of years ago, when this sort of thing wasn’t as rife in football, they assumed that it was all ok. I remember a period when I didn’t really hear much about racism in football, but then over the last two years there have been several incidents; with Raheem Sterling, with Dele Alli and with a whole number of black players who play for England or in the Premier League.

“I think it is important to never just assume that these things are all hunky-dory – it is something that we have to keep on top of.”

The thing is, as Itoje says, rugby isn’t safe against discrimination either. Those outside of the sport easily fall into the trap of feeling it is immune from the horrors of what happened in Bulgaria, yet Itoje is well aware that it isn’t.

“I know people in rugby who have experienced it in the professional game and grass roots,” he alarmingly said. “I think it’s important never to just assume that this is a free zone from any form of discrimination. I think rugby is probably – from the sports that I’ve seen – right up there in terms of integrity, in terms of respect and in terms of how they treat people. But I think it is important to never just assume that it’s always going to be that way.”

Itoje has long been an advocate of equality within a game that hasn’t always shown it – and that is getting to terms with a new face within the professionalism era that sees the number of public school graduates at the top of the game on the rise – white or black.

However, what really catches Itoje’s attention is whether the football team was right or wrong to decide against walking off the pitch, despite threatening to do exactly that in the event of such racial abuse.

“I’m all for player empowerment,” agrees Itoje. “I’m all for players speaking up when they feel there are injustices done to them, so that in itself is good. It is important for players who are subject to this kind of abuse and discrimination that they speak up and highlight the wrongs and the issues.

“But I also think that the associations and teams need to take a tougher stand. They need to make it crystal clear ... I’m not even sure what the punishment is. It needs to be more severe, because it is obviously not acting as a deterrent, especially when they go abroad to places like Bulgaria.

“I was reading something the other day about a Bulgarian reporter arguing with Gareth Southgate about whether it was racist or not. He walked out in a huff about it. That just shows how bad the issue is if you have press in that country arguing against what we would consider blatant discrimination. That probably highlights the magnitude of the problem we face.”

As Itoje has previously said to The Independent, that issue spreads beyond sport to today’s society but it is one that he can’t fight alone, and one that he can’t fight now. Itoje has a World Cup quarter-final game to play in two days’ time, in a tournament that could well define him as a great of the game, yet even now the issue of colour, race and belief continues to tarnish sport, and sadly it seems it will not go away any time soon.