Son Heung-min Banned from Stadium for Racist Comments Like "Rice-Eating Cheater"... UK Takes Strong Action Against Hate Speech

Son Heung-min celebrates his 30th A-match goal with a snap ceremony. [Source=Yonhap News]

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] A British citizen who made a racially discriminatory gesture online, such as pulling the corners of their eyes, may be banned from entering football stadiums. This is because the UK government is preparing a bill to ban online racial abuse offenders from entering stadiums for up to 10 years.

On the 26th (local time), local media including the UK 'The Guardian' reported that "those who racially abuse football players online will now be banned from entering stadiums for up to 10 years," and that a related bill is being prepared.

According to the media, Priti Patel, the UK Home Secretary, is pushing for the passage of a bill containing these provisions. Minister Patel explained the reason for the bill, saying, "I have seen racial abuse offenders hiding behind keyboards attacking football players and ruining the beautiful game," and "Racism is an unacceptable issue."

She added, "The football world has long been hurt by shameful racial prejudices," emphasizing, "Offenders must be punished."

London Wembley Stadium, known as the holy ground of English football. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article / Photo by Yonhap News

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Online racial discrimination targeting football players of color is not a new issue. Earlier, during the UEFA Euro 2020 final between England and Italy in July, this issue was highlighted. The two teams ended in a 1-1 draw and went to a penalty shootout, where England lost 2-3.

At that time, some players from England such as Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka received a flood of hateful comments from angry football fans on their social media accounts. Many of these comments were reported to be racially discriminatory.

Following this incident, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to address the issue of online racial discrimination.

Meanwhile, Son Heung-min, who plays for the English professional football Premier League (EPL) club Tottenham Hotspur, has also experienced racial discrimination.

In May, some netizens posted racially discriminatory hateful comments on his social media accounts, such as "Go sell DVDs," "Eat cats, bats, or dogs," and "Rice-eating scammer."

Subsequently, local police immediately launched an investigation and arrested eight young men aged 20 to 32 who wrote the comments.

According to the UK media 'The Sun,' the investigation authorities stated, "This clearly shows the police's stance not to overlook racially abusive violence occurring online," and emphasized, "We will take decisive measures to eradicate such behavior."

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