Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter for the latest tips and offers Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling , who is leading the fight against racism in soccer, said on Tuesday he hoped to talk to officials at England’s Football Association and the Premier League about combating the menace.
Sterling told a conference in New York that the hectic nature of a footballer’s schedule was the only thing that had kept him from meeting them already.
“In football you can get caught up with training every day and games every two, three days so you don’t really have a lot of time to be out and speaking to people,” Sterling said during a moderated discussion at the Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything conference.
“But for sure on my off time and holidays if I can get around and speak to the FA and the people in the Premier league and see how we can go about doing things better in the future for sure I’ll be there in person to try and do that.”
Sterling, named Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association last month, scored two goals on Saturday as City crushed Watford 6-0 to become the first team to win the English domestic treble of league championship and both domestic cups on Saturday.
How the Premier League title race unfoldedShow all 41 1 /41How the Premier League title race unfolded How the Premier League title race unfolded Premier League title race in pictures
AFP/Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Liverpool moments before kicking off their season against West Ham The Reds thrashed West Ham 4-0 to open their account
Liverpool FC via Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Raheem Sterling celebrates after putting Man City ahead at Arsenal on the opening weekend The Blues would go on to win 2-0 at the Emirates
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Willy Boly handles Wolves in front Man City would eventually salvage a point through Aymeric Laporte, but it was here they initially fell behind in the title race
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Georginio Wijnaldum celebrates scoring against Spurs at Wembley Liverpool would run out 2-1 winners to continue their perfect start
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Daniel Sturridge celebrates his last-minute equaliser against Chelsea The Blues had lead through Eden Hazard, but Jurgen Klopp's side remained unbeaten, though their winning streak ended at six
Liverpool FC via Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Riyad Mahrez misses from the spot in the 86th minute Liverpool held on to share the points vs Man City, their second successive draw
AFP/Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Riyad Mahrez reacts after his crucial miss The Algerian struggled to justify his £60m price tag from Leicester
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Riyad Mahrez celebrates scoring against Spurs The Algerian's strike hands the Blues victory at Wembley
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Alexandre Lacazette denies Liverpool The Arsenal star's goal ensures the Reds are held and fall behind Man City to begin November
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Ilkay Gundogan celebrates scoring vs Man United The Blues won the derby 3-1 to maintain their lead at the top of the table
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Divock Origi scores deep into stoppage time to secure victory vs Everton The Belgian capitalised on Jordan Pickford's blunder to win the Merseyside derby and importantly stay in touch with City
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded David Luiz celebrates scoring against Man City The Brazilian added a second after N'Golo Kante's opener to hand City their first defeat of the season and gift Liverpool a one-point advantage
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates scoring vs Man United The Swiss forward's double secured a 3-1 win against United to stun Jose Mourinho's side and maintain the Reds' lead at the top
Liverpool FC via Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Andros Townsend celebrates his wonder strike vs Man City Crystal Palace shocked Pep Guardiola's side 3-2 at the Etihad
AFP/Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Ederson looks on as Ricardo Pereira seals victory for Leicester Man City's slump continues with a third loss in four games
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Roberto Firmino equalises against Man City as the contenders clash at the Etihad The Brazilian's strike cancelled out Sergio Aguero's opener
Liverpool FC via Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Leroy Sane settles the match with a fine strike The German pulls City within four points of the Reds
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Ederson picks the ball out of the net after Matt Ritchie converts from the spot Newcastle stunned City, rallying from 1-0 down to secure victory in a huge blow to their hopes of defending the title, slipping five points behind after 24 games
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Liverpool look on dejected after Harry Maguire equalises for Leicester The dropped points in the 1-1 draw at Anfield would spark a slump of four draws in six matches
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Aymeric Laporte celebrates breaking the deadlock at Goodison Park In a match where Evertonians were widely in favour of losing to ensure no help to their rivals in the title race, Gabriel Jesus added a second late on to secure a 2-0 win
AFP/Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded City hit Chelsea for six Pep Guardiola's side run riot against Chelsea, knocking them for six at the Etihad in a statement victory
AFP/Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Jurgen Klopp reacts in frustration as Liverpool are held by Everton The title race swings towards City as Liverpool are held 0-0 at Goodison Park and finally toppled by Pep Guardiola's side
Action Images via Reuters
How the Premier League title race unfolded Liverpool pull victory out the bag at the death against Spurs Toby Alderweireld cannot prevent his own-goal against the Reds in stoppage time to stay within touching distance of City
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Mohamed Salah is mobbed after the late escape against Spurs Salah's effort was deflected in off Toby Alderweireld in stoppage time
Liverpool FC via Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Mohamed Salah celebrates his late goal against Southampton After struggling to break down Saints, Salah produced the key moment at St. Mary's
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Mohamed Salah produces rocket to break deadlock vs Chelsea The Reds star unleashed a fine strike from distance to send Liverpool on their way to a 2-0 win to keep pace with City
Liverpool FC via Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Bernardo Silva settles City nerves at Old Trafford In what was expected to be their last remaining hurdle, Man City beat rivals United at Old Trafford 2-0, but were forced to wait until the 54th minute before the Portuguese broke the deadlock. Leroy Sane added a second 12 minutes later to confirm their 11th successive victory
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Divock Origi strikes late to maintain Reds' hopes The Belgian secures a vital three points in a 3-2 win to keep their title hopes alive, bouncing back after suffering a heavy defeat to Barcelona just days earlier
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Vincent Kompany unleashes rocket at the Etihad The City captain scored from range with 20 minutes remaining to break Leicester's stubborn resistance and keep City on track and continue their win streak to 13 matches
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Sadio Mane put Liverpool ahead against Wolves The goal temporarily put the Reds top of the table
Action Images via Reuters
How the Premier League title race unfolded Glenn Murray heads past Ederson With City behind, Pep Guardiola's side had dug themselves a hole
AP
How the Premier League title race unfolded Sergio Aguero slides home the equaliser Sergio Aguero responded within 83 seconds, putting City a goal away from being back in control
Getty
How the Premier League title race unfolded Aymeric Laporte puts the visitors ahead Laporte's header gave City the lead
REUTERS
How the Premier League title race unfolded Riyad Mahrez slams home a third The Algerian hits a superb third from the edge of the area
AP
How the Premier League title race unfolded Mane celebrates his second Mane added a second to make sure Liverpool finish on 97 points
Liverpool FC via Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Ilkay Gundogan celebrates his goal Gundogan added a fourth from a free-kick
Getty
How the Premier League title race unfolded Jurgen Klopp salutres the Liverpool fans Klopp applauds the fans at Anfield after falling short
Reuters
How the Premier League title race unfolded Liverpool appear dejected after falling short Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane react after falling short
Getty Images
How the Premier League title race unfolded Pep Guardiola reacts to City clinching the title Guardiola has overseen back-to-back title triumphs
Reuters
How the Premier League title race unfolded Man City celebrate at the final whistle City react to clinching the title
PA
He re-iterated his hope to see clubs slapped with automatic nine-point deductions if their supporters indulged in racist behaviour.
“If I go to a football game and I support Manchester United, for example, I don’t want to be the person that lets my team down by saying silly remarks in a stadium,” said Sterling.
“If you know your team is going to get deducted nine points from them winning the league you are not going to say these racist remarks even though you shouldn’t have it in your head.”
Last season, Sterling accused sections of the British media of fuelling racism with negative portrayals of young black players.
Sterling also encountered racist abuse during England’s Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro in March, while there have been many other cases in European soccer in recent months.
Despite that, Sterling felt there had been some encouraging signs with regard to fan behaviour.
Sterling insists he wants to meet with The FA and the Premier League (Getty) “Ten years ago it was a lot, lot worse than it is now. It’s starting to get better and people are understanding that they can’t say certain things,” he said.
“But I think it’s partly English culture on a Saturday to go out early and get ready for the game and start drinking. So a lot of these people are kind of drunk by the time they get (to the stadium). But it’s getting lot better than it used to be.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies