Diego Costa speaks out against discrimination

I don't know how Chelsea managed to time this Diego Costa interview so well, but the terrifying striker has managed to strike a blow for good after that unsavoury incident in a Paris metro station from yesterday.

It’s a delicate issue, not just racism, but discrimination as a whole. It doesn’t matter about your social status or whether you have good or bad financial conditions. It’s important we put a lot of work into it because the more people speak about these issues, the more chance there is of it getting out into the public domain.

People that suffer from discrimination shouldn’t stay quiet, because speaking about it will help them become stronger. As a community, as people, we must look at discrimination with real care, because people suffer from it unnecessarily and it’s important we help one another.

Source: ChelseaFC.com.

This is obviously in the context of Costa's work with underprivileged children back in Brazil, but it's an important reminder from a powerful personality that rather than sweeping problems under the rug, we should speak up and try to find solutions. The reaction to yesterday's flashpoint from the vast majority of Chelsea fans has been exactly what you'd expect from a club in 2015, and the hope must be that we use this shameful display to increase further our resolve to do right by all people across the world.

It hasn't been fun writing about this and I imagine it hasn't been fun reading about it either. But it's a necessary process, and an important (if small) part of healing the wounds that divide society and manifested themselves yesterday before a football match. Racism: no. Other forms of discrimination: no as well. Thanks, Diego.