On Saturday afternoon, Coventry City midfielder Kasey Palmer was racially abused by some Sheffield Wednesday supporters. The English-born Jamaica international was simultaneously shocked but unsurprised by the monkey chants, the strength of his resolve matched only by his sense of resignation.
“I’m black and proud and I am raising my three kids to be the exact same,” he wrote on social media after the game at Hillsborough. “I’ll be honest, though, it feels like things will never change, no matter how hard we try.”
And he’s spot on. Just a few hours after the shameful scenes in Sheffield, AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was subjected to the same deplorable treatment by Udinese fans, hammering home the fact that incidents of racial abuse are only going to continue because the issue is still not being adequately addressed.