Henry threatens to walk off if racist abuse is repeated

Thierry Henry has suggested a new way of tackling racism – walking off the pitch if he is subjected to any more taunts again while playing for Arsenal.

Henry was targeted for racial abuse and had missiles thrown at him during the Gunners' Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven at the Philips Stadion last Wednesday, and there has been similar abuse suffered by black players from both Fulham and Liverpool in European matches. The game's European governing body, Uefa, has launched an investigation into the incident – but Henry does not believe enough has been done to stamp out the problem.

"There is no place for racism and the authorities should be doing a lot more to deal with the problem," the French striker said. "If I walk off the pitch the next time this happens then people will take this problem more seriously. This is 2002 and you would have thought people's attitudes would and should have changed by now.

"I can handle the fans who try to wind you up. You get on with it and accept it. But why should I put up with racists? It sickens me when people feel they have a right to judge you by the colour of your skin."

The chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, Gordon Taylor, said he would not condemn Henry if he did walk off. "If Thierry did something like that, it would certainly illuminate the problem," Taylor said. "As a union we would not condemn such an action, but it is something for the player to decide."

Taylor confirmed that his union will be taking up the matter officially with Uefa and added: "We would expect to get the backing of the clubs involved. We would fully support players in this situation.

"These problems have been eradicated in this country but seemingly not abroad. We have had our own campaign and there is now a similar campaign in Europe too. Clubs whose fans use racial abuse should be punished."

Arsenal have played down reports that Henry's team-mate Dennis Bergkamp will retire at the end of this season. The Dutchman had been quoted as saying he would leave Highbury when his contract expires in May.

"My family and I are very happy in England but when my contract ends I will go back to Holland," Bergkamp reportedly said. "I left there 10 years ago but it will always be my home."

But the Gunners described the reports as "premature" – although they did not refute the 33-year-old's claims entirely. A club spokesperson said: "Reports suggesting that Dennis Bergkamp will retire at the end of the season are somewhat premature. Dennis would like to stress that he has not actually stated that he will be retiring at the end of this season."

The Blackburn Rovers manager Graeme Souness will decide whether to sign the Ivory Coast midfielder Lassina Diabate this week.

Diabate, a free agent after quitting Auxerre, will play for Rovers reserves against Derby tomorrow, with Souness watching from the stands. The powerful African is short of match fitness but is eager to impress in the hope of gaining a contract for the season.

The Scottish Premier League is considering a rule change to allow players to move on loan to other clubs in the league. Iain Blair, the league's director of administration, said the change in policy was being considered at the suggestion of a number of club managers.

The most obvious impact of the move would be to allow younger players at Rangers and Celtic gain first-team experience by going on loan to other Premier League clubs. Such practice is already common in Italy and Spain, although the Premiership in England does not allow loans between its clubs.

"We inherited a policy from the Scottish Football League when we set up the SPL, and the SFL does not allow loans within the same division," Blair said. "That is something that went, until recently, largely unchallenged. But it is something we're actively considering at the moment. I can certainly see the benefits.

"If you have a youngster at one of the bigger clubs, they may feel there are more benefits in going to another SPL club than down a few divisions where a completely different style of football is played," Blair added. The league plans to canvas opinion among its members before taking the idea further.