At age 17, Rhian Brewster couldn't be on a bigger stage.
As an English footballer, he's already a striker for Liverpool U19, of the Premier League, and he's got a pair of accolades -- the Golden Boot and Bronze Ball -- from his role on the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup champions. Representing England, his back-to-back hat tricks all but drove his team through the quarter- and semifinals, and before that, he made a name for himself in the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.
No amount of early soccer success, however, has shielded the London-area native from his biggest opponent: Racism.
In an extensive interview with The Guardian's Daniel Taylor, Brewster recalled this week at least seven different occasions where he or a teammate have been subjected to racially charged remarks from opposing players. Time and time again, the young scorer revealed, he or his friends have been called "monkey" or "the N-word," and rarely have the alleged remarks resulted in disciplinary action.
The UEFA Champions League, Taylor reported, has concluded in separate instances that there is insufficient evidence to discipline players who may have directed slurs at Brewster and teammates. But "the apparent lack of investigation" from UEFA after certain complaints has, Taylor noted, caused even Liverpool to "have doubts about the processes UEFA employs and the effort, or lack of it, that goes into establishing the truth."
The following recollections of racist remarks were among those outlined in Taylor's sit-down with Brewster (note: some explicit language is used):
- After Brewster was fouled in a recent game against Spartak Moscow, an opponent "leaned over me, right down to my face and said: 'Suck my (explicit), you n----r, you negro.'"
- After a collision with the goalkeeper in a May game against Croatia during the European Under-17 Championship, Brewster said he exchanged words over a "bad challenge" and "pushed" an opposing player, who then "called me a n----r."
- After an exchange during a September game against Sevilla for Liverpool's Under-19s, Brewster said an opponent said something in Spanish during an argument, then proceeded to use the N-word.
- Two weeks after the September game, Brewster said he was leaving the field against Spartak Moscow when the crowd began chanting "monkey" at the sight of his Nigerian-born teammate entering the game. (The UEFA did enact punishment on Spartak's academy stadium for this, Taylor added.)
Brewster, The Guardian notes, came forth with his allegations behind support from Mike Gordon, Liverpool's co-owner; Jurgen Klopp, the team's manager; and countless others connected to the organization.
