It's been a harrowing experience and the frequency with which it's occurred, he says, does not make it any easier. Brewster is a resilient child but he's clearly suffered. "On the day it occurs, that night my mind will not be there. I only want to be left alone. I would like to be by myself and left to believe. The next day I will still be thinking about it." It doesn't help, either, that there's been only 1 occasion when an opposition player was punished, with a youth championship with Liverpool in the Czech Republic in 2015. "He confessed he'd said it and they banned him from the remainder of the tournament," Brewster recalls.
"After the match, he tried to apologize but I would not shake his hand." Brewster was 15 at the time and much younger on the first occasion he was targeted, going back to his days at Chelsea's junior system and a championship in Russia. "I was warming up with a couple teammates. We were all colored and there were monkey chants. There were about 10 of those doing this. It had never occurred to me before. I told my trainer and he went crazy. The match was still playing and he went directly to the organizers to inform them what had happened and find the individuals who were doing out it.
agen sbobet
The only small ray of light, perhaps, is that Brewster hasn't experienced anything of this sort from the other English player. "If somebody in my group said something like this [to an opponent] I'd pull them up myself: 'Well, if you are saying that to him, you are essentially calling me as well.' We've got different players from other races, even at the lower leagues. They do not have that in some areas overseas. Every time it has happened to me I do not recall a single black player being on their team." He nods in agreement when Inglethorpe talks about the solution being better schooling and when Liverpool's academy manager says the first-team players from the clubs that are applicable should help that process.
What Brewster would also enjoy, however, is hardly proof that Uefa is doing more than merely paying lip-service to the issue. "Everybody stands behind the anti-racism banner ads. You've got the adverts for Champions League games saying 'no to racism' in all the various languages. Idols of the game participate -- but it still occurs. "Before the last Spartak match I was talking to [Liverpool team-mate] Ben Woodburn and I said to him: 'This does not mean anything, I do not know why I'm standing behind this banner anyhow' We did it against Sevilla and it occurred, we did it against Spartak off and we did it at the Euros. I am thinking to myself: 'Well, I am standing behind a banner but does this really prevent them from saying it?' To tell the truth, I do not think there's a point. It requires more severe punishments.