England soccer player asks family to avoid World Cup over racism fears

Playing in a World Cup is the dream of many a soccer player, but one England international is wary of having his family witness the big moment with him.

England left back Danny Rose admitted on Wednesday that he feared his family being targeted by racists in Russia so much that he told them not to come to the World Cup.

“I’ve had to tell the family I don’t want them coming out to Russia because I’m worried about their safety,” Rose said, via Matt Law of the Telegraph. “That’s going to affect my preparation for games if I’m worrying about them and that’s such a sad state of affairs.

“From the age of 11, when I had training three or four times a week, my dad would make sure I was there and he’s come to Wembley to watch me play for Spurs this season, even though he doesn’t get home until 3am and he’s up at 7am to go to work in Doncaster. He’s followed me all over my career, and I had to tell him last week I didn’t want him to come to Russia, and I could tell he was really upset.”

There have been many concerns about Russia as a World Cup host, and racist behavior from fans is one of them. It has happened at club-level games before, and it has even been discussed by some teams what the reaction should be if black players are targeted by racist taunting. Hopefully the fears prove unfounded, but it’s worrisome when a player feels his own family can’t come to the World Cup out of a fear of racist abuse. Unfortunately, racism is far too common in the sport, even in England.