You cannot kill the game by discrimination and it should never happen, proclaims Romelu Lukaku

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has urged prominent figures such as the CEOs of social media companies and Premier League players to come together to put an end to the abuse that footballers receive online. The Belgian international spoke at the launch of the London club's 'No To Hate' photography campaign which encourages fans of the club around the world to send in their photos to show the diversity and inclusivity among the Blue's fanbase. The 'No To Hate' campaign was launched back in March by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich following the racist abuse launched at Chelsea defender Reece James in January.

Lukaku himself was the subject of monkey chants from Cagliari fans when he used to play for Inter during his stint at Italy and the Belgian is personally committed to fighting against the abuse as he aims to be more directly involved. The 28-year-old conceded that the current gestures displayed on the pitch do not have sufficient impact and more needs to be done by those in positions of authority. 

“I have to fight, because I’m not fighting only for myself. I’m fighting for my son, for my future kids, for my brother, for all of the other players and their kids, you know, for everybody. The captains of every team, and four or five players, like the big personalities of every team, should have a meeting with the CEOs of Instagram and governments and the FA and the PFA, and we should just sit around the table and have a big meeting about it,” Lukaku told CNN Sport.

"At the end of the day, football should be an enjoyable game… You cannot kill the game by discrimination. That should never happen. Football is joy, it’s happiness and it shouldn’t be a place where you feel unsafe because of the opinion from some uneducated people," he added.