Football pundit Ian Wright has accused parts of the UK media of having a racist agenda against Raheem Sterling.
The Manchester City forward, who scored in the champions’ 2-0 win at Arsenal on Sunday, has faced criticism for his performances for England at the World Cup.
He has also appeared on tabloid newspaper front pages and websites for having a gun tattoo on his leg, “obscene” purchases, partying until 3am and shopping at a pound store.
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Former Arsenal and England striker Wright says that Sterling’s Jamaican heritage and rags to riches story are the real reasons for the media criticism.
“How many people do you see get the criticism Sterling gets?” Wright said on BBC Radio 5 live’s Monday Night Club. “The football criticism is something every player has to deal with, but what he gets I don’t see any other footballer getting.
“They don’t get that stick because for whatever reason they don’t rub up the people in the corridors of power the wrong way. I think there is an agenda against him.
“There is an element of people at high end of the media who want to keep that guy down. Simple. When you look at the wave of criticism that he takes, there is a certain amount of racism towards it - what else can it be?
“They are picking on him because of the background he has come from and they want to keep him down, drag him back down. They don’t want him to continue to be a success.
“People say you are playing the racism card, but you give me a good reason why Raheem Sterling gets the stick he gets for just being a footballer.”
