By Akinwale Kasali
Former Nigerian international, Odion Jude Ighalo, who currently plays for English Premier League giant, Manchester United, has vowed to leave the pitch if he is racially abused again.
The striker who is on loan from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, revealed he was once called ‘all sorts of names’ by an opposition player during a match in China.
The former Granada Football Club of Spain striker said he reported the incident to the Chinese FA, but claimed no action was taken and he decided to ‘let it go.’
According to Ighalo, he is now prepared to walk off the pitch if he is subjected to racist abuse in Manchester United shirt.
‘If it happens to me, I would report it to the referee and see what they do, but if they don’t take action about it then I’m going to walk off because it should not be done to any player or anyone in the world,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘In one game in China I got called all sorts of names and after the game, I didn’t shake his hand. I walked straight into the dressing room, I was angry, I reported it to the FA.
‘I didn’t press forward with it, I just let it go because I’m just this kind of guy. I don’t like to drag issues out. But I don’t think it should be condoned in any country.’
The 30-year-old also backed the Black Lives Matter campaign, following the killing of George Floyd, the black American who was murdered by a white cop in Minnesota.
‘Nobody should condone racism,’ he added. ‘We are all human. Despite the colour of our skin, we are all the same, we live in the same world, the same life. I don’t condone racism, but at the same time, I don’t condone riots.
‘We have to start from the younger generation, educate them, let them see that all humans are the same. We should fight for humanity not colours.’
