Sulley Muntari abandons game over racist chants

An American hip hop artist once said in one of his songs: “Racism is still alive they are just concealing it”.

Well, in football, it is not hidden and they are not trying to conceal it.

Yesterday, in an Italian league match, Pescara’s Sulley Muntari walked off the pitch in protest when a referee booked him after he claimed he was being racially abused during a league match.

Report has it that the 32 years old Ghanaian midfielder had approached the referee and asked that he stopped the match after been targeted with racial abuse.

But unfortunately, the referee did not see it that way and booked him for dissent in the 89th minute. Muntari then walked off the field, leaving the already relegated Pescara to finish the game with 10 men.

Speaking after the game, Muntari said: “The referee should not just stay on the field and blow the whistle, he must do everything.

“He should be aware of these things and set an example.

“I asked him if he had heard the insults. I insisted that he must have the courage to stop the game.”

Pescara boss Zdenek Zeman, whose side lost 1-0, said: “He asked the referee to intervene, but he [said he had] neither heard nor seen anything.

“Muntari was right, but he shouldn’t have left the pitch. It’s not up to us to dole out justice. We can talk a lot about it but then it must be left with the powers that be.

“Today this has happened when Muntari has already played in Italy for many years. We hope that mentalities will change.”