The England international was slammed by the pundit for his public statement on racist behaviour in the game
John Barnes has suggested Jadon Sancho should “give up football” if he is falling out of the love with the game following the recent spate of racism directed at high-profile players.
The 19-year-old English winger said his “love of the sport” would be threatened if racist attacks on footballers continued after vile taunts have been directed at Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku among others in recent weeks.
However, Barnes criticised Sancho’s comments, insisting the Borussia Dortmund star should ‘go into the real world’ and see “what real discrimination is about”.
“Jadon said he will fall out of love with football, let him give up football,” Barnes told talkSPORT.
“Let him go into the real world as a young black man, without education, without playing football.
“Then he will see what it is really like to be a black man being racially abused, what real discrimination is about.
“I heard he signed a nice new contract. Is he ready to give up that contract because he is falling out of love with football? I don’t think so.”
Barnes feels that footballers affected by racist abuse should become advocates for those less fortunate suffering the same problems.
He believes the strength of the message from high-profile players could have a lasting effect on helping highlight issues within the community.
“As much as footballers want to talk about how terrible it is for them, look at what’s happening to the black community, kids without an education and without a job,” Barnes said.
“We are going full circle, trying to do something to change, using these black footballers what we should do, and how terrible it is for them.
“They should use their voice, talk about discrimination, where it really helps people.”
Sancho has had a stunning start to the season for Dortmund, scoring two goals and nabbing three assists in his opening three Bundesliga games.
The teenager has been rewarded with a call-up to the England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo, where he will be keen to score his first goal after striking a blank in his first six caps.
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