It’s not the first time he has been asked the question and it probably won’t be the last, but it never gets any easier to answer. How does Yaya Toure feel when football fans are directing monkey chants at him?
The Manchester City midfielder, who plays for the Ivory Coast, detailed Tuesday the emotional turmoil he always felt between wanting to play on and refusing to be subjected to those chants by walking off the pitch.
“It’s difficult to deal with that,” he said recalling the abuse he had been subjected to by CSKA Moscow fans in 2013.
“As a sportsman, you want to finish the game but when you hear that [monkey chants], it breaks you. It’s not easy to experience that,” added Toure, who was helping FIFA launch its Anti-Discrimination Monitoring System at Wembley in London.
It’s the world governing body’s latest attempt to clamp down on discriminatory incidents, not solely racism, that could occur during the World Cup qualifying campaign ahead of Russia 2018.
CSKA were found guilty by UEFA for that 2013 incident and handed a partial stadium closure as punishment on top of a $56,000 fine.
“If we aren’t confident at the World Cup, coming to Russia, we don’t come,” Toure said immediately after that game, though he was in a more conciliatory mood Tuesday.
FIFA will send independent observers trained by FARE, the European anti-discrimination organisation, to matches that are deemed “higher risk”, such as games involving national teams comprised of players from various ethnic backgrounds — England, France and Germany — explained the world governing body’s Head of Sustainability Federico Addiechi.
The ‘monitors’, will report any incidents directly to FIFA, which will then be able to sanction punishments of fines or stadium closures to any sporting body they find guilty.
Toure says he is pleased that decisive action could now be taken.
“I’m very satisfied to see that FIFA is taking this issue very seriously and putting in place concrete measures to stop behavior which goes against the spirit of our sport,” explained the Ivorian.
“We have to take sanctions,” added Toure. “Something strong has to be done, to show they have to stop.”
“Football is about togetherness and happiness. We need to show them that they need to change or they will face radical sanctions.
“As an African, you can imagine how difficult this situation is. I spoke up on behalf of my friends. Abuse is really hurtful, we need sanctions. Something has to be done.”
Speaking about his five years in England, the longest amount of time he has ever spent in one country during his professional career, Toure was complimentary on how he has been treated.
“We are people of colour, but we are ‘men’ before that,” he explained. “People are respectful.”
According to a recent report by the Sova Center, a Moscow-based racism-monitoring group, some 200 racist incidents were committed by Russian fans between 2012 and 2014.
And only last month FIFA president Sepp Blatter said “a lot of work needs to be done” to deal with the scourge of racism and discrimination from Russian soccer and the game in general.
Despite that level of abuse, Addiechi insisted the awarding of the World Cup to Russia was unconditional and the nation would not be stripped of hosting it as punishment for any incidents between now and then.
“The FIFA World Cup was entrusted to Russia on condition of delivery of the World Cup in the way we expect it to be delivered,” said FIFA;s Head of Sustainability.
“We believe in the positive impact the World Cup can have, not just on the discrimination issue, but many other issues in the host country, in Russia, but also in Brazil, in South Africa and in Qatar in 2022.
“The World Cup will take place in 2018 in Russia. There has been a commitment from the Russian government and football authorities to make the best possible effort to host an inclusive World Cup and make sure everyone feels safe, comfortable and welcome in the country.”
In the past, both FIFA and European soccer’s governing body UEFA have faced criticisms for imposing relatively small punishments related to discriminatory incidents. It is hoped that this new initiative, through punishment and education, will be the big step forward needed to combat discrimination in the build up to Russia 2018.
Read: Samuel Eto’o fights racism: ‘Not on my watch’
Read: When did racism become part of a ‘lads’ day out?’