Danny Rose says he has “had enough” of racism in football and “can’t wait to see the back of” his career.
The Tottenham Hotspur defender was subjected to racist abuse during England’s Euro 2020 qualifying victory over Montenegro last month.
He was also received abuse in 2012 during an England Under-21 game in Serbia and was farcically shown a red card after the incident.
In an explosive interview published by the major news outlets on Thursday evening, Rose revealed the issues with racism have changed his opinion on the game he once loved.
The 28-year-old also criticised UEFA fore their mishandling of countless situations.
“I have had enough. At the minute, I’ve programmed myself to just think that I’ve got five or six more years left in football and I just can’t wait to see the back of it, seeing how things are done in the game at the minute,” Rose said, according to the London Evening Standard.
“It’s just ‘whatever’, isn’t it? So you just have to get on with it. That’s how I feel. I feel I’ve got five or six more years left and I just want to enjoy football as much as I can. There’s so many politics in football and I just can’t wait to see the back of it to be honest.
“I’d prepared myself for what happened [in Montenegro], so I was fine. Had we not been winning, the yellow card I got at the end might have been a red one, but I’m fine. We won and we’ll just wait for whatever punishment – if any punishment happens.
“It’s just a bit of a farce at the minute. That’s where we’re at now in football and until there’s a harsh punishment there’s not much else we can expect I don’t think.
“I played in Serbia about eight years ago and it happened there, so I sort of thought it was a possibility it may happen again, and it did. I looked up straight away in the first half and I know the exact time it happened in the first half. It didn’t affect my game. I’m a big boy now. Three points obviously isn’t the most important thing when you’re going through things like that, but I just wanted the team to get three points and we just move on and get out of Montenegro as quickly as possible.”
Rose’s interview come in the aftermath of a recent incident involving Juventus teenager Moise Kean, who was racially abused in a match at Cagliari earlier this week.
Kean’s teammate Leonardo Bonucci was heavily criticised for suggesting the 19-year-old was partly to blame for provoking the fans – Bonucci has since backtracked on those comments.
It feels like only a matter of time before a team walks off the pitch.
