Former Ghana international, Nii Odartey Lamptey has implored black players to stay focus and not to allow racism to halt their success as footballers.
The world is currently fighting racism and following the death of George Floyd in the United States, blacks around the globe are demonstrating against such act.
Kevin Prince Boateng, a Ghana international has been one of the black players who has been championing the fight against racism.
Following the resumption of the English Premier League, players’ names have been replaced on the back of their shirts with ‘Black Lives Matter’ for the first 12 matches of the restarted season. Also, players take the knee before every match.
Reacting to the trending issue, Odartey Lamptey, who played in the Premier League and other countries revealed he was racially abused by some of his teammates, opposition players and fans.
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According to him, he didn’t allow it to bother him because he was focused on his main task of playing football and achieving his goals.
“[I suffered] a lot [of racist chants]. From Belgium to Germany and all that but I always say that I believe in one thing. I went to Europe due to football so I put those things behind me,” he told Joy Sports.
“None of those things intimidated me. I mean sometimes you score a goal and you start celebrating and the opposition fans will throw bananas at you. With my teammates, sometimes I enter the dressing room and greet but no one would mind me.”
Odartey Lamptey, who made over 30 appearances for Black Stars, played for 13 clubs including Anderlecht, PSV and Aston Villa.