Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba appears to have taken football’s fight against racism into his own hands – or specifically, onto his own wrists.
Pogba had black and white wristbands made with the messages “no to racism” and “we are one” on them.
The 26-year-old and his teammates wore them in the warmup to United’s 4-1 win over Newcastle at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
After the win, the France international – who handed his band to a fan – confirmed that the wristbands were his idea.
“I’ve been thinking about doing this, but I don’t want to go through the UEFA or the FIFA. I (have) done it myself,” Pogba told reporters in the mix zone.
“I think we have the chance to have this power to show things in football, on TV. People see it so I think that will make people understand some things.
“I think it’s ignorance. Ignorance and stuff like that, and just to show people that you are all one. We are all one.
“I mean, by hearing things every week. We keep seeing it again and again in a lot of stadiums.
“It’s just to show that, to give support to all the players – I mean, black or white or Chinese or whatever who you are.”
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Speaking from experience
Pogba has had personal experience of racism in football.
The World Cup winner was subjected to racist abuse on social media in August after missing a penalty kick against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Since then, there has been an alarming rise in racist incidents, with alleged racist behavior marring Chelsea’s win at Tottenham Hotspur earlier this week.
Pogba also highlighted the abuse his teammates Fred and Jesse Lingard received during the recent Manchester derby at the Etihad, as well as other incidents involving Everton’s former Juventus striker Moise Kean and Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli.
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Pogba says he was inspired by the “Stand Up, Speak Up” wristband campaign launched by former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry in 2005.
“Basically, I was thinking about doing this for a long time,” said the midfielder.
“A lot of players in a lot of leagues – not only in Premier League, in Italy, Spain, everywhere – and we keep hearing this (racism).
“The fans needs to enjoy coming and seeing some nice football and that’s it. So, this is to show that we’re against that [racism].
“We are just for football, enjoying football. We do what we love. We give joy to the fans, to everyone, to all the spectators, and that’s all we want to see in the stadium.”
