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Darren Moore calls for Raheem Sterling 'racist' incident to provoke national response

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Darren Moore fully supports Raheem Sterling after he spoke out about racist abuse

Darren Moore has questioned how much football has moved on in its tolerance of racism in the last 40 years, saying "the same things that went on then are going on now".

The West Bromwich Albion head coach, one of only eight black managers in the Football League, says he "fully supports" Raheem Sterling for drawing attention to "where the industry is at" in dealing with racism.

The Manchester City forward was allegedly the target of racial abuse by a Chelsea supporter last weekend, and accused newspapers of "fuelling racism" with their portrayal of young black footballers.

Raheem Sterling in action for Manchester City against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Image: Sterling was allegedly the target for racial abuse at Chelsea last weekend

"What Raheem said has been spot on in terms of the situation between young black players and how they are portrayed," Moore told Sky Sports News.

"It's wrong for us to be stereotyped or portrayed in a certain way because we love the game and play the game like everybody else.

"The incident clearly portrayed the ugly side of the game."

Moore watched the '1978' play performed by school children at Sandwell Academy - based near The Hawthorns - on Wednesday night.

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The production depicts the experiences of three black former West Brom players: Cyrille Regis, Brendon Batson and Laurie Cunningham.

Cyrille Regis was remembered at The Hawthorns earlier this year after passing away aged 59
Image: Cyrille Regis was remembered at The Hawthorns earlier this year after passing away aged 59

"The same things that went on then are going on now, we're talking what 40 years on," said Moore.

"So what can we learn from this generation in terms of going forward?"

Moore said it is "shameful" that racism remains an issue in football and insisted "this has to stop".

The 44-year-old added: "My message is, now that it has been highlighted, how are we as a nation, everybody, going to move forward and take huge strides in stamping this thing out once and for all?

"We don't want to single out anybody, what we are calling for is everybody to take a share in it, come together and say these incidents will not be tolerated in football.

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"They're not tolerated in tennis, rugby, it seems to be tolerated at football.

"Football clubs, the media, governing bodies can do more - it's a shared responsibility."

Moore says he has not heard any racist abuse while he has been head coach at West Brom, but admitted he "possibly" feels more pressure to succeed because of a lack of black managers.

"In the role you're representation of so many is greater," he said.

A statue of Regis, Batson and Cunningham is due to be unveiled in West Bromwich in March next year, with organisers saying it honours the trio "who opened the gates for black players".

Regis, who scored 112 goals in 297 appearances for the Baggies, died in January this year.

"There's many generations of black players that have suffered abuse, they've tried to go about their game in the right way," said Moore.

"Cyrille would not want that today, the things he suffered in his generation, he'd have hoped they moved on to a significant level."

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