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‘I WAS IN SHOCK’ CYRUS CHRISTIE OPENS UP ON RACIST ABUSE AFTER IRISH TRAINING

Republic of Ireland right-back Cyrus Christie has spoken of his shock at being racially abused by a young fan after a training session in Dublin.

The 27-year-old,ย who has spoken about racial abuse before, said the abuse came from a child who was with their schoolteacher and led to Ireland players refusing to sign autographs as a result.

โ€œIt was a kid, thatโ€™s why it shocked me,โ€ he told OTB AM. โ€œItโ€™s come from a kid. You donโ€™t want to blame the kid because itโ€™s come from the parents in my mind.

โ€œWhat shocked me the most is that obviously heโ€™s there with the teacher. The teacher didnโ€™t say nothing. She allowed it. Unless you educate these people itโ€™s going to keep happening.

โ€œThatโ€™s what I find scary. You have older generations and theyโ€™re so stubborn… theyโ€™re not going to change their mind because if youโ€™ve been on this Earth for 50, 60 years itโ€™s hard to change someoneโ€™s opinion.

โ€œYouโ€™ve got kids that understand what is going on in this world… theyโ€™re growing up in a different time now.

โ€œFor a teacher, who is in a high position, who is meant to be a carer, for her not to say anything was what shocked me even more. I donโ€™t know whatโ€™s been said around him [the kid] or his education, but itโ€™s a kid who Iโ€™m sure has enough longevity in his life to know where he went wrong there.

โ€œHopefully 20 years from now he doesnโ€™t have the same opinion.โ€

The full-back, who was promoted to the Premier League with Fulham two weeks ago, said James McClean addressed the issue with the squad afterwards.

โ€œIt wasnโ€™t me that brought it up, I took it on the chin and moved on, and James McClean brought it up โ€“ his voice in Ireland is probably a lot bigger than mine. He understands the situation because he gets quite a lot of racial abuse as well which no-one ever speaks about or picks up on.

Courtesy: irishtimes.com


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