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There is still a racism problem - Malouda

Florent Malouda believes racism is still an issue in football © Getty Images

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Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda has acknowledged that racism still exists in football, and believes the culprits are only demonstrating their lack of education on the matter when they make such comments.

The subject is currently dominating discussion in the English media, after Blues captain John Terry was accused of directing a racist insult in the direction of QPR's Anton Ferdinand during last month's west London derby. Terry has strenuously denied the allegations, although Ferdinand on Monday revealed he wants the case properly investigated as he has "strong feelings" on the matter.

The France international, who was born in French Guiana, is sad to see the issue still exists in the modern game.

"I would say football, or sport in general, is a perfect example of how different people from different origins, religions or cultures can be together," Malouda said in support of the Show Racism the Red Card campaign. "If you look inside a dressing room, you have people from all over the globe sometimes with different languages, but because we play football we all think the same way and there is no difference. We all play under one shirt and we all feel like we are one and, for me, that is the same as the human race.

"Racism comes from people who don't know the real origin of the human race and can't recognise that there is only one real race - the human one.

"I don't know if you can give advice; those people need to educate themselves and need to learn more about life because I think that most of the people who do that are scared of something.

"They think the other person represents a danger, which is wrong and they need to learn that it is wrong."

Malouda believes the problem also occasionally exists in the stands - and advises players who suffer abuse to try and ignore it, rather than give the abusers what they want.

"I would say, in football, racism does exist sometimes in crowds. I really think it is just a way for certain fans to try to get a player out of his game and force him to make a mistake. It does exist and I can say it does affect the players," he said.

"I think it is really difficult to stay calm when you suffer from racism, especially in a place like a stadium where you should come to enjoy yourself and not to abuse players or anyone.

"You have to stay focused on the game, so I think the best answer is to ignore them and, if it does happen, just respond with a smile."

The interview first appeared on Show Racism the Red Card. Click here to read.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.