The Sunderland winger was sent allegedly racist abuse on social media last week
Régis Le Bris says Sunderland have rallied around Romaine Mundle and shown their values after the winger was the victim of alleged racist abuse in the aftermath of the club’s 3-1 defeat to Fulham last week.
The Sunderland head coach said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday the club stood for ‘respect, inclusion and diversity’ and that the support shown to Mundle over the past week reflected that this was shared across the city. Mundle was one of a number of Premier League players to receive allegedly racist abuse over the course of the weekend.
“What happened with Romaine is unacceptable,” Le Bris said.
“We stand with him – there is no room for racism or abuse in football, or anywhere else. That is clear for us. We stand for respect, inclusion and diversity, these are the values of football and also the values of the club. That is clear.
“I don’t really know why it keeps on happening, I just want to repeat we don’t want to accept that,” he added.
“You have to have a clear position on it, and I think that is the case here in Sunderland. We want to defend our values. When someone - or a group of people, I don’t know – want to threaten those values, it is important to react.
“It was the certainly the case that everyone got round Romaine and offered their support to him,” Le Bris continued.
“You always have lots of different relationships inside a dressing room, but the respect for everyone within the squad here at Sunderland is huge. It is a big part of the club. And I don’t just think there is that relationship internally, I think it exists externally as well. You see the values of a family when it hurts, and that has been the case here. I am really happy with the reactions, both inside the squad and from the outside as well. I am really pleased with the way people have reacted to what happened and behaved here in Sunderland.”
Sunderland said in their statement last week that they would take the ‘strongest action possible’ against any individuals identified: “The abhorrent behaviour displayed by multiple individuals is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the Club under any circumstances.
“There is no place for racism in our society, and we stand with Romaine, who has our full support. The Club is actively working with the relevant authorities and online platforms to identify those responsible, and we will take the strongest possible action available to us.
“These individuals do not represent Sunderland AFC, our values, or our community - and they are not welcome on Wearside.”
Le Bris confirms Romaine Mundle injury setback
Mundle suffered a hamstring injury in the latter stages of the defeat to Fulham, with Sunderland currently assessing whether surgery is required.
“It might be a difficult injury,” Le Bris said.
“He might be out for a few weeks, maybe a month. We still have some assessments to make but we'll have a clearer picture soon. It's still early to say if it's exactly the same injury he's had before, but the early indications are it is not positive.”
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