Yaya Toure harbours fears of racism for his children, reveals reluctance to let them play

Most, if not all former football players are eager to get their children to take up the sport. In Yaya Toure's case, it seems to be the opposite case. Amid the growing instances of racism in world football, former Barcelona and Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has revealed his reluctance at letting his children take up football. He fears that his kids will be racially abused in the future. 

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Yaya Toure harbours fears of racism

Speaking to the media at the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, Manchester City great Yaya Toure said that he gets emotional about racism since it is a pressing issue that hurts him all the time. He continued by saying that since he wants his kids to play football and be professional football players. He said that it is difficult to ask them to stop playing football even if instances of racism are on the rise.

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Yaya Toure himself is no stranger to racism. The former Barcelona and Manchester City midfielder revealed that he faced extensive racist abuse during his time in Ukraine. The emergence of racism in world football in recent years has been well-documented. This year, however, cases of racism in football have experienced a sharp spike. 

Also Read | Serie A Stirs Up Controversy After Releasing Monkey Artwork As Anti-racism Initiative

During the Euro 2020 Qualifiers in October earlier this year, England players were subjected to racial abuse. That case was then followed by racist abuse directed at Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku and Brescia's Mario Balotelli in Serie A. While there is no doubt that a major part of the responsibility of tackling racism lies with Serie A, the league decided to take a bizarre approach to tackle the growing instances of racism in Italy's top tier. Serie A unveiled an anti-racism initiative featuring a series of paintings of monkeys. Naturally, the initiative received widespread criticism. 

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