Callum Hudson-Odoi has called for an end to the “evil” racist abuse he was subjected to when playing for England in Montenegro. Their 5-1 victory in Podgorica, which represented the Chelsea winger’s first international start, was overshadowed by racist chanting largely aimed at Hudson-Odoi and Danny Rose.
England reported the abuse to Uefa, but Tottenham’s Rose then described himself as “lost for words” when he learnt Montenegro’s punishment involved them playing their next match behind closed doors and a fine of 17,253. Raheem Sterling had celebrated scoring by putting his hands to his ears in response to the abuse, while Rose has revealed that playing in those circumstances has made him look forward to retirement.
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An object was also thrown onto the pitch in Podgorica, which Hudson-Odoi retrieved, and the 18-year-old Chelsea star wrote on The Players’ Tribune: “I don’t want to dwell on it too much, but the racial abuse that me, Raheem, Danny Rose and a few others got that day was unacceptable. “To be hearing stuff from the crowd saying, ‘You’re a monkey’, or, ‘Ooh-ah-ah’.
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Stuff like that, for me it’s, why?Why do that evil? How can you even racially talk about someone else, or discriminate against them because they’re a different colour to you? “If anything, the chants backfired. When it happened during the game, it didn’t put me off my game, but instead made me more motivated to beat them and make sure we won.
“I had so much respect for Raheem when he scored and did the celebration and the Instagram post after. But also, no player should ever go through the racism and discrimination Raheem has had to go through. It’s not right.” the Chelsea winger added.
