Gyanmandu:
Manchester City and England star Raheem Sterling has been honoured for his role in the fight against racism in football at an awards ceremony in London. He was presented with the Integrity and Impact Award founded at the BT Sport Industry Awards on Thursday. Gareth Southgate, coach of England's National Team presented the award to Raheem Sterling. Raheem stood for highlighting and challenging the racial abuse and lack of diversity prevailing in the sport. Sterling becomes the second recipient of the award, following Rachel Denhollander in 2018. She was the first survivor to speak out against disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
On Monday, Sterling fronted a campaign led by UK newspaper The Times, calling for the footballing authorities to change the way in which it tackles racism, as well as demanding stronger sanctions for those found guilty of the abuse. In his own article as part of the launch of the action plan, Sterling wrote: "I don't want the next generation to suffer like me." Sterling and his England teammates suffered racial abuse from Montenegro fans during his side's 5-1 win. He began the fight with an Instagram post in December, just 24 hours Sterling had allegedly been racially abused by Chelsea fans during Manchester City's defeat at Stamford Bridge.
