West Ham United forward Michail Antonio has called for harsher punishments to help eradicate racism in football, including 'games behind closed doors and points deductions'.
The Premier League has witnessed a number of high-profile racial incidents this season, including Liverpool's Mohamed Salah being subjected to alleged abuse by Hammers fans during their game earlier this month.
Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has also had a banana skin thrown in his direction during the north London derby at the Emirates in December, while
"If you affect their team - these fans love their team - the fans, his friends, are going to turn on him.
Antonio's comments came after Sky Sports News released data claiming 86% of football fans that regularly attended games in the UK have witnessed racial incidents, while that figure rises to 93% for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic supporters.
While admitting his surprise at the results, the 28-year-old believes more should be done by the FA and UEFA when racial incidents at football games occur.
He added: "
At 7pm, @SkySportsNews will air the first in a series of special programmes on the challenges of racism in football and reveal findings of an exclusive poll, which has been completed by fans who regularly attend matches.#TacklingRacism pic.twitter.com/u5hMUmJm4f
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 11, 2019
"I feel like it is getting worse but I'm not going to blame the English leagues.
"Racism can be stopped in football stadiums but it all depends on what the FA and UEFA want to do about it.
"If they keep thinking of other solutions rather than just hitting it straight on the head, then it could take generations."
Source : 90min