Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has backed his team mate, Raheem Sterling who claimed he suffered racial abuse in the game against Chelsea in the Premier League.
Gundogan was embroiled in a scandal along with Mesut Ozil when the pair along with Emre Can met up with Turkish President Erdogan.
That caused an uproar which ultimately led to Ozil’s retirement from the German National team citing racism
The Manchester City midfielder supported his team-mate saying: “We have to deal with it, It’s not easy because I lived it in the summer as well. I know how that feels and it hurts.
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“But at the end we have no other choice but to stay strong and try to go through that period and try to do our best on the pitch. Yeah, to keep being successful, that’s what matters.”
Gundogan was also asked about how Sterling was doing since the abuse and he praised his teammate for handling it well
“He has been normal.” he said, “I think he made his point clear through Instagram, giving a statement on that. I don’t know if there is any more to say but this is obviously something that doesn’t belong anywhere in the world.
“I think he got a lot of support this week. I think also the way Chelsea reacted was good. It’s something we all have to fight; we all have to play our individual roles to make it better for everyone.”