Sunday 9 December 2018 20:18, UK
Sunday Supplement journalists give their reaction to Raheem Sterling's Instagram post after suffering alleged racist abuse at the weekend.
Chelsea and the Metropolitan Police are investigating the incident which took place in the first half at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as Sterling retrieved the ball from behind the goal line.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Sterling said he "just had to laugh" at the events because he "expects no better", before calling for "fair publicity" and equal treatment for all players.
The Sunday Supplement panel gave their reaction to the statement:
Jason Burt, Daily Telegraph chief football correspondent: "If one story has been reported differently simply because of the colour of somebody's skin, then the Daily Mail have got a lot to answer for, because that is unacceptable and they need to justify themselves. I think Sterling is perfectly within his rights to highlight that.
"I hope this will be picked up properly and reported on tomorrow. We all need to get into the whole issue more. It is a big problem."
Neil Ashton, The Sun chief football correspondent: "In a social media post, Raheem Sterling has just changed the dynamic of the reportage of yesterday's game and the wider picture. He has just decided what the media agenda will be tomorrow, nobody will ignore this."
Andy Dunn, Daily Mirror chief sports writer: "I think that Sterling coming out and saying this is a big step. it is an important step for him and addressing this whole issue.
"If it makes our industry be more introspective and have a look at itself, examining could we have done anything better, then it is a good thing.
"We can all look at each other and even if only subconsciously, we can look whether we report on black players differently than white players - it is as simple as that. How do we refer to black players in terms of the physicality? Sometimes it might be using different language.
"If there is anything that we do that fans any flame of prejudice, then it has got to be stopped. Reporters may not do it deliberately, but if they examine themselves and look at whether they actually do it, or 'could I do anything more to address the issue' it can only be a good thing, and fair play to Raheem for doing it."
