Ex-England star Emile Heskey has revealed racism in football was the ‘norm’ in the 1990s
Former Liverpool and Leicester striker claimed he became 'desensitized' to the abuse as a youngster growing up
FORMER England star Emile Heskey has revealed racism in football was the "norm" in the 1980s and 90s.
The ex-Liverpool and Leicester striker, 40, claimed he became "desensitized" to the abuse as a youngster growing up.
Heskey revealed he was once even told his "kind is not welcome around here" while walking into Leicester's stadium as a teenager.
The 62-cap England ace revealed: "If you got sour or upset about any of these things you generally wouldn't go anywhere in football.
"No black person controls anything within football so we had to fit in.
"[But] it has to come out to let people understand what we had to go through and how tough we had to be to make it within football."
Heskey added: "You are in an environment where you've got to remember racism was considered the norm. I grew up in the late 1980s and 1990s.
"You desensitize. You grow up with that sort of stuff. I don't think anything was maliciously said to me as a player.
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"I've just turned 40 and in my era [racism] was a little bit less than the era before.
"Maybe some things that were seen as a joke - the era that I came from you had to just take it as a joke.
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"Now you wouldn't take it as a joke. You'd report it or you would have it out with the guy."
Heskey revealed one particularly abhorrent instance of racism from his childhood.
He said: "Coming to the stadium - I was only a schoolkid at the time, I would probably have been 14 or maybe 15 - a local Leicester fan told me 'your kind is not welcome around here - go home'.
"I just carried on and went into the stadium. If you look at it, that same person three years down the line would have been cheering my name."