Patrice Evra speaks out on racist abuse and how to combat it
Manchester City midfielder and Belgium international captain, André Silva. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire
Somewhere in the Premier League, the game will take another strange turn. City’s squad will become embroiled in a political storm as the club seeks to defend its manager, Manuel Pellegrini, in the wake of allegations that he bullied and racially abused his way to City’s Premier League title three years ago.
This time last year, Manchester City midfielder André Silva’s contract was cancelled by the club, with the decision described as a “shock to the football and the wider world”.
Although the details were never quite clear, the City chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, accused Silva of “behaving in a way that does not make you a good person and has made us a laughing stock”. “Silva is a good person who will be a good man for the club,” the chairman said. “We don’t need to make threats. We will just let André know there is no alternative to his thinking.”
In an interview to Sky Sport, the young forward denied the story, insisting that the episode had been “blown out of all proportion”. “I’ve never been accused of that,” he told the interviewer. “I spoke to my manager and he’s not a racist… I’m not going to get into the speculation on that. I never spoke to anyone over the phone about that, I haven’t heard anything about that.
“I’m here, the manager is here [and] they’ve always had good relationship. That’s it.”
City and Silva had been at odds since 2009, with the club repeatedly asking Silva to sign a new contract. In November 2013, City threatened to sack Silva unless the Spanish international signed a new deal. The manager said he had no intention of leaving the club, and the argument between the pair never came to anything.
But the story would soon resurface at City. André Silva’s current contract will expire in the summer of 2016, and he has been offered an extension to
