Yaya Touré: "The fans shouted, 'black ****, go home'"

Former Barcelona and Manchester City player Yaya Touré has opened up about the racism he was subjected to during his career in an interview in today's edition of The Mirror. The 35-year-old has spoken in the wake of the rascist chants which Raheem Sterling was subjected to during the recent Euro 2020 qualifier between England and Montenegro. He is hoping that FIFA will take appropriate action.

Touré faced rascial abuse while he was at Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine: "First I felt humiliated and then very angry. The monkey chants were worse than anything. Sometimes our own fans would do it at our ground. I had to get used to it. I’d try to play football and the fans would sing: ‘Black s***!, Black ****!, Go back home!'". It was hard. Very difficult. And I had to keep going back to it - every game.... "

His father also suffered the same thing:"I remember calling my father. I told him: ‘They have been doing the monkey chants in front of me. Papa, I feel very bad!. He told me to go and play. To be strong. He didn’t want it to affect me but he didn’t realize how badly I was already affected. Then, one day he came to watch me. He went to sit down. All the white people moved away from him. They went to sit somewhere else. I remember he asked me: ‘What happened? Do I smell bad?’ I told him: ‘Papa, do you remember when I called you and I told you about the people singing the monkey chants and you told that I had to accept it? To suffer? He said to me: ‘Yes son, it’s very bad.’ He was so angry".

Sterling targetted in Monte negro: "Even if you prepare yourself for it, when you get it you are still shocked. That’s why I was surprised that Raheem Sterling stayed so calm. He is like my little brother. When you have seen what he has done he is surely the Footballer of the Year".

Action needed: "If one of the players is abused then all of the team should come off. The manager as well. Even the fans. Because something has to be done properly. From FIFA - from the top".