Marco Silva: racism is in society, not just in football

Everton manager Marco Silva has said he believes the problem of racism extends far further than in football with the issue in the game having come even more plainly into the public eye recently.

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham and Manchester United Paul Pogba have both the subject of racial abuse on Twitter in the last two weeks, with the officials from the social media site set to meet United and anti-racism group, Kick It Out.

Speaking out against these disgraceful incidents at his pre-match press conference before Everton’s trip to Aston Villa tomorrow, Silva said the problem is a societal issue and a cancer in football:

“Racism is not just in football, it’s also in society.

“It’s important we stop it and be a key part of situation and everyone can do a bit more.”

This is not the first time Silva has issued an anti-racism message while at Everton, having condemned all forms of such abuse after a song about defender Yerry Mina containing racial stereotypes surfaced online in December.

On tomorrow’s game, which would see Everton go top of the table with a win at currently-pointless Villa, albeit probably only momentarily, Silva admitted he is enticed by this prospect by is not underestimating the threats posed by Dean Smith’s newly-promoted side:

“It would be good [to go top] but we have to respect Villa.

“Their performances so far have shown more than the results they achieved.”

The Blues have taken four points from their opening two league games this season, keeping clean sheets in both them.

They have now not had their goal breached in ten of their last 13 matches stretching back to last term, and Silva also praised the remarkable recent improvements made by his defence:

“In football normally you can’t ask for time, you have to show results and give the fans what they expect.

“We have worked really hard to settle and for a team to win with a clean sheet is fantastic, it’s one of the main things for me as a coach.”

Silva also called for more consistency from the new video assistant referee (VAR) system in place at every Premier League game from now on.

Manchester City, for instance, were denied a last-minute winner against Tottenham Hotspur last week by VAR in what proved a highly contentious decision, but the Blues boss added it is too soon to either praise or condemn the new technology:

“It’s too early [to comment on VAR]. Some of the details are not so clear but they can be important for football.

“Other things - like the City game - it was not the first time it happened. It’s important that every single weekend they have to go the same way.”