Football star Sulley Muntari has offered advice to young African players on how to better handle racism in football.

He spoke to Flashscore recalling a time he was shown a yellow card after reporting abuse to the referee. This was during his time in the Italian Serie A with Pescara.

“They can’t deal with racism in Italy. It’s going to be like this for a long time unless they act in a very strict way. In England, you can be suspended or jailed for racism but even with that it is still there. It’s human nature, it is things that they feel about us," he remarked.

Muntari, 40, drew inspiration from his experience to advise active African players on the international scene.

“As a player, I think you don’t have to pay attention to it. If you’re playing football, you go on to do just that. If you’re working you go on to do just that. Wherever you are, just focus on what you do and don’t let someone get to you. Sometimes they bring their frustration to you,” the infamously hot-tempered former Ghanaian international star midfielder said.

“If I knew at that time, I would have handled things differently. I was young so I would fight back. That being said, I’m hoping one-day racism will stop."

Sulley Muntari in his active days played football England, Spain, and Italy. He represented Ghana at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups in Germany, South Africa and Brazil, respectively, too.

After almost three years of inactivity, he resurfaced to play for Ghana-based Accra Hearts of Oak inspired by his son. He was with the popular club for a few months, won the President’s Cup and MTN FA Cup in the process and retired in 2022. He had played for 18 years overall.