Strong support for Raheem Sterling following racial abuse at Chelsea game

Organisations and charities are coming out in support of Manchester City's Raheem Sterling after he was subjected to racial abuse during their match against Chelsea.

Footage circulating online shows fans shouting at him on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.

Show Racism the Red Card and The Professional Footballer's Association (PFA) are among those to condemn the incident.

Meanwhile Kick It Out is criticizing football bosses for staying silent on the issue...

Sterling himself spoke out on Sunday with a post on Instagram which criticized newspaper coverage of young black players for fueling racism. He said: "For all the newspapers that don't understand why people are racist in this day and age - all I have to say is have a second thought for fair publicity and give all players an equal chance."

The PFA echoed Raheem's comments saying: "The PFA condemn, in the strongest terms, the increase in racial abuse our members have been receiving from the terraces. We encourage all clubs to take the strongest possible action for fans found guilty of racially abusing players.

"Over the past two weeks, we have seen two alleged high-profile racist incidents happen from the stands at Premier League games. We stress to all clubs the importance of dealing with these incidents robustly. It is not acceptable for our members to find themselves subject to racist abuse, simply for showing up to work and performing for their team.

"This weekend, following the video footage appearing to show a fan shouting racist abuse at Raheem Sterling, we have been in close contact with his agent, and extend our full support to Raheem.

"We commend Raheem for his professionalism during the incident and the statement he made via Instagram on Sunday. We stand with him in calling for the press to consider the coverage of all footballers carefully, and to end their imbalanced coverage aimed at young, black players.

"We have been aware for a few months of the targeting Raheem faces in the press, it is evident that he is often singled out and treated more harshly than his colleagues. As such, these stories are fuelling racism within the game, as reports of racist abuse continue to rise."