Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has urged Tottenham Hotspur full back Danny Rose not to let racism win by following through on his plan to walk away from football when his playing career ends.
England international Rose said on Thursday that he could not wait to leave football because he had had enough of the racism in the game and was frustrated by the response of the authorities to the abuse.
Rose was among several English players who were victims of offensive chanting in a Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro last month.
Guardiola, whose City team play Tottenham in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday, said Rose should stay in football and continue to fight racism from within the game.
“The best way to fight and combat this kind of terrible situation is fighting and being there every day – and of course (Rose) is an extraordinary footballer,” Guardiola told a news conference on Friday.
“I will tell him when I see him next Tuesday.”
The chanting in Montenegro gave fresh impetus to the debate over whether the game’s authorities are doing enough to tackle racism in soccer.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said this month that referees should stop matches when players have been subjected to racial abuse, while Rose’s England team mate Raheem Sterling called for stiffer sanctions for fans who racially abuse players.