Wilfried Zaha has opened up on the disgusting racial abuse he suffers during most Premier League matches, claiming he is regularly called ‘a monkey or n*****’.
The Crystal Palace star’s revelations come after a season in which racial abuse was prevalent in England’s top-flight, at international level and in the EFL, with players being targeted in stadiums and on social media.
Zaha took to Twitter in April to share a message he received from a Newcastle fan calling him a ‘diving monkey’. The former Manchester United winger also revealed that he has received death threats online.
And in a new interview with The Jackal, Zaha has now explained how he hears racist abuse almost every time he pulls on his boots at the weekend.
“Nearly every game I’m called a monkey or a n***** or a whatever,” Zaha told the magazine. “Imagine if I really got down about that?
Raheem Sterling has become a prominent speaker about the issue of racism in football over the last 12 months, but Zaha has no interest in following his lead.
“Yeah, Wilf Zaha’s going to make a speech about racism. [I’m] so over it,” he added. I don’t know if we’re animals to them or whatever. Why is this okay? Why are you saying these things right next to your five-year-old kid? And then, when you leave, what, you’re back to being a normal dad, working a normal job? People mask this stuff.”
The Ivory Coast winger revealed he has been speaking to a life coach after questioning his love for the game.
“For a couple of weeks, I’ve been speaking to a kind of life coach,” he said. “With football, you get to a point where you start to think, ‘Do I still love it, or am I doing it as a job?
Zaha appears set to dominate headlines this summer with his future at Crystal Palace up in the air. He told Sportsmail in April that he wants a move to a Champions League club.
