Romelu Lukaku is of the opinion that footballers can do much more in the fight against racism, than simply lowering the knee in a symbolic sign, before the start of matches. The Chelsea star has demanded that social media companies meet with players to end racist abuse and insults online. The striker of the Belgian national team stated:
"I think we can take stronger positions. Everyone is lowering one knee in protest, people applaud, and after the match comes another insult. We need to sit around a common table, to discuss how we can fight the problem more directly. This applies not only to men's football, but also to women's football. "
Lukaku's teammate at Chelsea, Marcos Alonso, said that from now on he will no longer use the symbolism of the knee lowering before the match. The footballer said this thing is losing its impact, and will focus on spreading anti-racism messages in another form. Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha has followed more or less the same attitude for a long time.
A few months ago, European clubs, players and some federations, undertook a 4-day boycott on social media, to protest against the low level of awareness of this growing problem.
Meanwhile Lukaku also added:
"If you really want to stop something, you can do it. We as players can boycott social media, but I think it is companies that need to come and talk to teams, players or governments, to find a way to stop it. I think they can really do that. "Football is happiness, it brings joy and it should not be a space that makes you feel insecure, because of the opinions of some uneducated people."
