"Put in the pillory immediately" How former professional footballer Ridge Munsy fought back against racists
Former professional footballer Ridge Munsy talks to blue Sport about his own experiences with the tiresome topic to mark the week of action against racism.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- These days, the Swiss Football League and the clubs in the top leagues are taking a stand against racism and discrimination.
- Ex-professional Ridge Munsy knows what it feels like to be racially insulted. In an interview with blue Sport, he explains that he always pilloried the perpetrators immediately.
- For Munsy, it is clear that such campaigns are important. The biggest mistake that can be made is to remain silent.
In an interview with blue Sport, Ridge Munsy says that he has not had many negative experiences with racism in Switzerland. However, the 35-year-old welcomes the fact that the Swiss Football League and the 22 clubs of the Credit Suisse Super League and the dieci Challenge League are setting an example for social cohesion and diversity on the occasion of the International Weeks against Racism (March 17-30). "I've always been an advocate of campaigns like this. I think it's great that we're setting an example there."
Ridge Munsy: "Certainly not keeping quiet"
However, he has had some bad experiences in Germany. "Being racially insulted after scoring a goal or maybe not scoring a goal is actually really sad. I always fought it straight away by putting people in the pillory." It's easy to hide behind your cell phone and make statements like that, which is why he reacted: "At some point, they understood that I was the wrong person to do things like that." That's why it stopped relatively quickly.
What would he advise a young player who is confronted with hatred and discrimination? "Certainly not to keep quiet," says Munsy, because you can only make a difference if you stand up to it. This makes campaigns like this all the more important. What has given him "a lot of strength" has been the support of his teammates or when the club makes a statement after such incidents and clearly stands behind the player.
Setting an example against racism together
During the International Weeks against Racism (March 17-30), the Swiss Football League and the 22 clubs in the Credit Suisse Super League and dieci Challenge League want to set an example for social cohesion and diversity.