First racially abused, Sikh boy then appears as mascot at England-Switzerland football friendly

A patka-wearing Sikh boy appears as a mascot in an England friendly football match over the weekend.

“As a patka wearing #Sikh boy Balraj was racially abused at two separate footy camps last year. He contacted Kickitout who arranged an assembly at school. Tonight on his 9th birthday Balraj was a mascot at England v Switzerland #kickitout25. Balraj 2 Racists 0,” writes his dad Dr Jasjit Singh on the social media.

Kick It Out is primarily a campaigning organisation which enables, facilitates and works with the football authorities, professional clubs, players, fans and communities to tackle all forms of discrimination. The campaign has been pivotal in persuading and supporting the game’s stakeholders to take their equality responsibilities seriously, according to the organisation’s website.

England bounced back from their Nations League loss to Spain with victory over Switzerland in a friendly at Leicester’s King Power Stadium. Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the game, adding to the one he got at Wembley on 8 Sept 2018, reported BBC Sports.

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