Kick It Out: Tougher punishments needed for racist abuse

Kick It Out trustee Leroy Rosenior has called on the Football Association to hand out a minimum 10-game suspension for racist abuse.

In recent seasons, John Terry and Luis Suarez have both been involved in high-profile cases of racial abuse but received different punishments.

The FA handed Liverpool striker Suarez an eight-game ban for comments directed at Manchester United’s Patrice Evra in October 2011, while Chelsea captain Terry served a four-game suspension for language aimed towards Queens Park Rangers’ Anton Ferdinand weeks later.

Rosenior believes these punishments did not send the right message and has urged the governing body to establish a set ban for players found guilty of racist abuse to act as a real deterrent.

“If someone is found guilty of racist abuse then the minimum is a 10-game ban – that will send a message out to people that it is unacceptable,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “10 games is the appropriate starting point for this sort of behaviour. Four games is not enough.”

The 48-year-old also called on the FA to deal with the cases quicker to avoid them spiralling out of control.

“Let’s be quick, investigate properly, get the facts right. If found guilty, punish them, send out a message, educate them,” he continued. “The problem with the Terry and Suarez incidents it that they weren’t dealt with appropriately from the outset so it snowballed and they became these massive baddies.”