Inter Milan and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku believes racism in football is at an “all-time high” ahead of the start of the European Championships.
Lukaku, who is preparing for Belgium’s opening game of the Euros against Russia on Saturday, has received racial abuse a number of times throughout his football career, notably when he was the subject of monkey chants from fans in 2019.
Lukaku believes abuse towards players is currently getting worse.
“I think racism in football right now is at the all-time high. Why? Because of social media now as well,” Lukaku told CNN Sport.
“I understand why people like Thierry Henry are blocking social media because it’s easy, you can track somebody down … The social media companies, they have to do more for me.”
Earlier this year, former Arsenal forward Henry deleted his social media accounts following a spate of online racist abuse aimed at Black footballers.
He slammed social media companies for their inability to hold users accountable for their actions.
“For me, to be honest, I don’t really see progress. I see a lot of campaigns and all that stuff, but really until there is no real action taken,” Lukaku added.
“In Italy, when it happened to me directly, there was something that was done because the Serie A really communicated with me and my team.
“And we basically tried to educate people in Italy that it is not good, because in Italy, it is a beautiful country and I’ve been accepted really well by everybody, home fans, away fans.
“I think when that happened, it changed. That’s what all the leagues should do. They should talk to the players and basically try to start doing things with the players and with their teams.”
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