Richards: Racism not a problem

Manchester City defender Micah Richards has praised the English game for its lack of racism and the way that problems are dealt with.

Racism has been big news in England this season after high-profile incidents involving Chelsea skipper John Terry and Liverpool forward Luis Suarez.

The racism issue has been raised yet again after Richards’ team-mate Mario Balotelli was reportedly the victim of monkey chants during the win against Porto in the Europa League on Thursday.

However, in regards to the issues in the Premier League at the moment, 23-year-old Richards believes racism was not a major concern in England.

He told Sky Sports: “It’s difficult for me to comment. There are always going to be people who have a certain opinion of people.”

“I have to say in English football that I think it has been outstanding.”

“There have been a couple of cases of late we’re not really happy about but since I’ve been playing, since I was 17, I’ve not really heard too much racism at all.”

“There are going to be little incidents, but as long as they are sorted out and dealt with in the right manner, we’ve just got to move forward.”

The Englishman has himself suffered abuse, on the social networking site Twitter, and after a second negative tweet three weeks ago he felt it was best to close his account and concentrate on football.

He added: “I did enjoy Twitter and the banter with the fans, but I didn’t like the abuse you get on it.”

“Sometimes you want to retaliate, but you have to be the bigger man and not.”

“I thought it was just for the best for myself because it can affect your confidence if people are saying things about you.”

“I just thought it was best to come off and concentrate fully on football.”