Raheem Sterling could be 'driven out' of Premier League over criticism, warns Kick It Out chair Lord Ouseley

Lord Ouseley has warned English football’s leaders that Raheem Sterling will quit the Premier League if they do not do more to protect him.

The Kick It Out chairman urged governing bodies to step in to address some of the criticism Sterling receives, which he believes may carry racist overtones.

Sterling took a good deal of stick from supporters for his performances for England in the World Cup but began the new season in style, scoring for Manchester City in their 2-0 win over Arsenal last Sunday.

However, Ouseley believes he is treated more harshly than a white player would be in the same circumstances.

Former Arsenal and England forward Ian Wright believes there is “a certain amount of racism” in judgments of Sterling and while Ouseley did not back his statement completely, he did call upon those at the top of the game to take more assertive action.

“Where is the FA on this? Where is the Premier League on this?” Ouseley wrote in The Voice. “Where are the PFA [Professional Footballers’ Association] and LMA [League Managers Association] on this? Where are the voices of the leaders in football on this?

“Are they happy to see a young black talent driven out of the English game because he is vilified unreasonably and unjustifiably while the governing bodies maintained a shameful silence? Ian Wright has spoken out and I applaud him for it. We at Kick It Out will speak out, too — how many influential figures in the game will join us? Is there a racial undercurrent to the coverage about one of England’s brightest young talents? Would a similarly mercurial white player be treated the same?

“Ian Wright says no and I think he’s correct but we should be careful of getting caught in an entrenched position here.

“There’s one side that sees every criticism of Raheem Sterling as covertly or overtly racist and there’s another that sees him as a high-profile sportsman who should just take it on the chin — it goes with the turf of the fame and the fortune. But while we try to work it out, let me ask some questions of the people running the game.”

Kick It Out’s latest figures revealed a 16.7 per cent increase in discrimination reports: a fifth consecutive season in which there was a rise.

In an exclusive interview with Standard Sport last week, Ouseley added: “The key to all of this is the leadership in football. The people with the power are the ones who are holding back progress.”