'Racism in sports needs to be dealt strictly'

Contending that racism has "gone down" in sports, Welsh footballer Niel Taylor Tuesday maintained that instances of racism in sports need to be dealt strictly.

"If they have to deal with racism, there has to be the firmest policy there can be in terms of dealing with the dark side of the game. I don't think it can be eradicated completely but the situation has got better," Taylor said while interacting with participants, coaches and coordinators of the Kolkata Goalz project at the East Bengal Club here.

"It has got better over the years. When a couple of these cases creep up these things happen. The media elaborates and it becomes a big issue."

The left-back Swansea City player feels that parents, teachers and coaches play a crucial role in educating children about people from varied backgrounds.

"I think these need to be dealt with. So many ethnic minorities are playing football, different backgrounds are involved. We are growing all the time, the issue is definitely going down. It starts from teachers, coaches, you have to pass it down," said Taylor.