Jurgen Klopp is the latest member of the soccer world to voice his support for, and praise of, Raheem Sterling for his handling of alleged racist abuse from four Chelsea fans over the weekend.
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Sterling’s response in the moment was to laugh in the faces of the four men at Stamford Bridge, but the 24-year-old has since taken the opportunity to shine a brighter light on the racism experienced by so many in not only the soccer world, but society as a whole, to this day.
Klopp says he is “obviously not surprised that these things still happen” after a number of high-profile incidents of racism occurring in recent years, but the Liverpool manager commended Sterling for handling the moment with such courage and dignity. “He gave the right response not to react to these people,” Klopp said — quotes from the Guardian:“I thought his reaction was just brilliant. You saw his face. He gave the right response not to react to these people.
“I am obviously not surprised that these things still happen and they will not stop only because we talk about them, but I like the fact we put the finger on it and say you cannot say what you want. We had similar situations in Germany and other countries, Italy with [Kevin-Prince] Boateng when he stopped the game because of the things people shouted from the stands.
“There need to be punishments for things like this. As long as people are silly enough to do this, they need to be punished for it, that’s how it is.”
Chelsea banned on Monday the four fans accused of racially abusing Sterling.