Former Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber has apologized following comments he made in an interview with a local newspaper about Raheem Sterling and several other black players.
Webber, who left the Canary Islands in November, said rosaun that Sterling, Max Aarons and three other black players would be in jail if it weren’t for football.
The comments came in an article in which Webber discussed his pending attempt to climb Mount Everest for charity next month.
Webber had said: “We want to help the kids who really need it, not the ones who maybe are privileged.” I saw it with our young footballers.
“Jonny Rowe wouldn’t mind me saying it, but him, Abu Kamara, Max (Aarons), Jamal (Lewis), Raheem (Sterling) in their time at Liverpool, where they come from, it had to work for them in football. , because the alternative is potentially jail or something else.’
Former Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber has apologized following comments he made in an interview with a local newspaper about Raheem Sterling and several other black players.
Webber said Sterling and four others could have ended up in prison if it had not worked out in football.
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Following the shocking comments in the interview, which came out on Saturday and is still available online at the time of writing, mirror reported that all the players and their families were left furious, shocked and deeply offended.
One of the players is said to have asked Webber for explanations after contacting him directly.
And according sky sportsWebber has apologized to the players in question after contacting them and their families.
Webber was Liverpool’s recruitment director from 2009 to 2012, and Sterling joined Liverpool at the age of 15 in 2010.
Webber subsequently held positions as head of scouting at QPR and Wolves, before becoming sporting director at Huddersfield Town between 2015 and 2017.
The 39-year-old then moved to Norwich, where he spent six years in the role until his departure in November.
The other four players Webber mentioned are in connection with his days at Norwich, with right-back Aarons moving to Bournemouth for £7m in August after being promoted at Carrow Road.
One of the other players Webber referred to was former Norwich right-back Max Aarons.
Webber also mentioned that Norwich star Jonathan Rowe could end up in jail.
Meanwhile, Lewis broke into the Norwich squad at a similar time before leaving to join Newcastle in 2020, with the left-back currently on loan at Watford.
Rowe, 20, is a winger and one of Norwich’s star players, while Kamara spends the season on loan at Portsmouth after joining the Carrow Road club’s academy at the age of 10.
Local outlet PinkUn is also reportedly under fire, and questions have been raised about how Webber’s comments were not challenged in the interview.
In response, Troy Townsend, head of player development at Kick It Out, an anti-racism charity, said: “Racially profiling current and former players.” So football or jail? Absolute shame!’
There was also furious public reaction from players’ relatives, with Aarons’ mother Amber accusing Webber of “casual racism”.
She posted on possibility that none of those children would have been in jail now.”
Lewis’ mother Catrina also said: ‘That’s not true at all… Very unprofessional comment!!! How can you make that assumption Stuart?’, before Aarons’ mother responded : ‘Inherent racism, I can’t think of more professional and level-headed people than the players SW has tagged.’
The times reported how Amber used to juggle her business job and take Aarons to training and matches during his academy days, while the player’s father, Mike, hired a skills coach during which it cost him £70 time to help the right back’s career.
The players, who also included Jamal Lewis (left, number 6) and Abu Kamara (right, number 25), were reported to have been left upset, shocked and furious by Webber’s comments to local outlet PinkUn.
Aarons was also originally in Luton’s youth system but left to better balance football with his studies when he took GCSEs.
Meanwhile, Lewis’s mother Catrina worked on community projects in Belfast and used to coach her son in athletics during his youth.
Lewis, who has won 34 caps for Northern Ireland, also founded his own mental health charity and campaigned against racism, while joining a campaign to stop online hate alongside figures including Gareth Bale, Rio Ferdinand and Marcus Rashford. three years ago.
Webber’s comments also sparked outrage from a number of Norwich fans, as the comments were labeled “disgraceful”, “horrendous” and “disgraceful”, while others urged him to “apologize for his atrocious racism”.
Webber’s take on the five players comes after he also made controversial comments about women’s football last year.
Speaking in May, the 39-year-old openly admitted not watching women’s football, despite investing in that side of the sport with the club, whose team plays in Division One South East of the FA Women’s National League.
Aarons and Lewis’ mothers attack Webber, accused of ‘casual racism’
“I don’t see women’s football,” he said. The Athletic. “It has no interest for me in terms of television because I watch enough men’s football and if I don’t watch that, I want to watch other sports.”
“It’s a choice that I think should be fine.”
Norwich Women played their first match at Carrow Road in April, attracting 7,585 fans when they took on Ashford Town.
Webber then added: “That was the first women’s game I went to because I’m not interested.” I don’t mind admitting it.