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Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has sent a strong message to FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the latter made comments pledging to stand up against racism in football. The Red Devils centre-back stressed that action is needed to back those words to produce the desired effect.
Gianni Infantino recently put out a statement on social media reiterating his commitment to fighting racism in football as the ugly phenomenon continues to stain the beautiful game. In a video posted on FIFA's official Instagram profile, Infantino stressed the organization's priorities on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
"At the next FIFA Congress which will be held on 17 May in Bangkok, FIFA will present a stance against racism to all our 211 FIFA Member Associations from all over the world. We want to unite the world in this stance against racism because we have seen too many incidents of racism and discrimination to simply call it a reflection of society or offer any other poor excuse."
"We have the tools; we need to put them in place, and we need to get the world - the football world, in this instance, united in our fight against racism. On this, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, I want to reiterate FIFA’s commitment to eradicate racism once and for all from football," the caption read.
Reposting the video on his X profile, Manchester United centre-back Raphael Varane noted that those words need to be accompanied with action to be effective.
"Actions speak louder than words. As supporters have big expectation on us to perform, we as players have big expectations of our leaders to use their power for good. We will be following closely and hoping for action for change," Varane wrote on X.
This isn't the first time Gianni Infantino has spoken out against racism. Back in January, the FIFA president called for an automatic forfeit of games for football teams whose fans commit racist abuse. It remains to be seen what action FIFA takes to strengthen its anti-racism policies.
Manchester United eyeing swap deal involving Jadon Sancho and Bundesliga star
Manchester United are interested in signing Borussia Dortmund forward Donyell Malen and are considering offering winger Jadon Sancho to the Bundesliga giants in exchange. That's according to a report from Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk.
Sancho joined Dortmund on loan in the January transfer window. The report claims that the club is pleased with the English forward and want to keep him at the Signal Iduna Park beyond the summer. BVB are also reportedly open to selling Malen, which could open the door for a swap deal.
Manchester United will continue their fight for a top-four finish in the Premier League this season when they return to action against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on March 30.
