John Barnes speaks out about possibility of racism in Russia

Barnes, who represented the 'Three Lions' 87 times, recalls the abuse that he suffered from crowds during his playing days. 

Speaking to the 'Guardian', he revealed: "I went through overt racism as a footballer in the 80s and early 90s but that was, or is, nothing compared to what the average black person in the inner cities of England goes through every day,

“If one idiot in the crowd shouts at you, and you are the only one who hears, you are being told that you are fully entitled to walk off. Really? Just one? More? Many more? What form? Booing every time a black player gets the ball isn’t illegal, even though you know why the fans boo. It’s too ambiguous.".

While the former-Liverpool player personally believes playing on to be the best course of action, he is quick to point out that this is just a personal opinion and that players should choose what they feel is right for them.

“We are told our young black players have strong views. As if older black players didn’t have strong views. And that walking off shows their strength. I wouldn’t honour black players of the past who went through much worse than I did by walking off the field to show my ‘strength’ because some ignorant fool shouts racist abuse. I preferred to carry on and do what I did best.

"I would never advise a young black player to walk off or not walk off the field regardless of how I dealt with it, because we are all different. Again, the ‘black players should’ line … I find it insulting to suggest we are all the same."