Racism in Italy stems from their 'infrastructure and school system', claims Tottenham goalkeeper Friedel

Racism in Italy stems from their 'infrastructure and school system', says Friedel

Mar 15, 2013 1:00:00 PM

The Tottenham goalkeeper says Uefa and Fifa face a difficult battle in wiping the game clean from such taunts after watching his own team-mates suffer abuse against Inter

Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel has hit out at Italian football, claiming racist attitudes are borne out of the country’s "infrastructure and school system".

The 41-year-old was part of the Spurs side who lost 4-1 to Inter at San Siro on Thursday night only to advance to the Europa League quarter-finals on away goals, but their joy was tempered by reported racial abuse towards goalscorer Emmanuel Adebayor and other black members of the visiting squad.

And Friedel, who has played in a variety of countries and cultures, believes Uefa and Fifa face an uphill battle to eradicate racist chanting from Italian fans as they need to attack the root of the problem.

"[Uefa] can do what they are doing and set up campaigns and things of this nature, but until certain countries want to set up their infrastructure and school systems, and they go inside the parents' heads and the households, things will not change," Friedel told reporters.

"When they do that then things will change, not so much [through] campaigns and things of that nature. I think education should be more stringent."

Inter were recently fined €50,000 for racially abusing former player Mario Balotelli during a Serie A game, with inflatable bananas reportedly being waved in the youngster’s direction.

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