Former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder: "Fans, people, now are more stupid than before"
Thursday 19 December 2019 17:38, UK
Former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure believes racism in football is getting worse because "fans are more stupid than before".
In recent months there have been a number of incidents at matches and the trend shows no signs of declining.
In November, Brescia's Mario Balotelli - a former team-mate of Toure at City - called fans who shouted racist abuse at him "small-minded" and "imbeciles" while Cagliari fans made monkey noises towards Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku earlier in the season.
This month Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport was criticised for the headline 'Black Friday' alongside images of Roma defender Chris Smalling and Lukaku.
But the problem is not restricted to Italy, with a man arrested after this month's Manchester derby for allegedly making a racist gesture.
Toure has spoken with FIFA about what can be done but knows there is no quick fix.
"I've had a chat with FIFA because this is something very important which we have to look at carefully," said the former Ivory Coast international.
"I know it will be difficult because the way to win this case is going to be very long.
"Fans, people, now are more stupid than before.
"Of course it is shocking because we are in 2019. In 2020, 2025 we have the kids coming through - what are we going to do? You can't continue like that."
