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Dave Kitson's comments on Raheem Sterling racism storm raise serious concerns about his PFA leadership bid

Dave Kitson’s bid to become the new chief executive of the PFA could come unstuck following a backlash among black footballers regarding his comments about the racist abuse received by Raheem Sterling back in 2018.

Sterling was the subject of abhorrent racial abuse from a small number of Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge almost 18 months ago, with the Man City forward going on to accuse some sections of the media of double standards when portraying players, and essentially fuelling racism.

He pointed out how a headline in theย Daily Mail about his City teammate, Tosin Adarabioyo, was titled: ‘Young Manchester City footballer, 20, on ยฃ25,000 a week splashes out on mansion on market for ยฃ2.25m despite having never started a Premier League matchโ€™; while a similar article about Phil Fodenย in the same paper simply said the midfielder bought a ‘new ยฃ2m home for his mumโ€™.

However, former Reading and Stoke forward Kitson – who is now looking to represent professional players as the new head of the PFA – suggested at the time that Sterling’s use of social media had made himself ‘a target’ and that he had antagonised the public by showing off his lavish lifestyle.

โ€œI do believe that players make themselves a target,โ€ Kitson told talkSport. โ€œWhy Raheem Sterling? There are other black players on the pitch, every single week.

โ€œI just think that we have a duty of care to ourselves as footballers, to be a little bit careful with social media, and the way we portray ourselves. Jealousy is an awful thing amongst the human race.

โ€œI trawled through Raheem Sterlingโ€™s Instagram feed this morning to find that a lot of what he put on in his early days has now been deleted, and it was, โ€˜look at my cars, look at my house, look at this bathroom, look at this, look at that, look at me.โ€™ And thatโ€™s going to antagonise people.โ€

He added that while there is “no excuse whatsoever for racially abusing somebody,” he then said: “but you sow a seed amongst people who are not racist, not to like that particular person, because they donโ€™t want to see that in their faces every dayโ€

Kitson – who is also thought to be the infamous ‘Secret Footballer’ – this week launched his manifestoย to replace Gordon Taylor as the head of the PFA. However, Sanjay Bhandari – head of anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out – has told the Guardian that the organisation would be ‘deeply concerned’ about Kitson’s eligibility and ability to lead the PFA and represent it’s black players.

โ€œThe PFA are valued partners of Kick It Out. Anyone who has aspirations to lead the PFA in the future must have in mind the best interests of all players. Given Dave Kitsonโ€™s previous remarks, I would be deeply concerned about his ability to represent black players. He needs to win their confidence and I doubt he can do that.โ€

Unsurprisingly, Kick it Out aren’t the only ones to have doubts over his candidacy, with a number of black players also voicing their concerns about Kitson’s previous comments, comments which look all the more hypocritical when you look at his own social media posts.

Read –ย Henry insists he wasnโ€™t obsessed with winning Golden Boot like rival Ruud van Nistelrooy

See also –ย Moments that made the Premier League: The Tevez and Mascherano transfer saga

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