Singaporean Sikh Football referee of Indian Origin, Sukhbir Singh, has been a subject of racial abuse online following his performance officiating the International Champions Cup match between European heavyweights Inter Milan and Chelsea played at Singapore's National Stadium.
All hell broke loose when Singh controversially awarded Inter a penalty during the dying minutes of the first half stoppage time when Spanish international defender Cesar Azpilicueta was penalized for bringing Stephan Jovetic down inside the Chelsea penalty box in what seemed like an innocuous challenge.
Fans, who had been following the game from around the world, were enraged at the erratic nature of the decision, especially since it changed the course of the game. Chelsea had dominated proceedings in the first half prior to this.
Late in the second half, Chelsea's Michy Batshuayi saw a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside, as video replays showed that he was in line with the defender at the far side of Inter's penalty box. Inter managed to hold on for a 2-1 win.
Britain's anti-discrimination group Kick It Out said that the online racial abuse which had been hauled at Singh on Twitter while the match was still going on is being investigated by their reporting officer who is liaising with relevant authorities.
Racism in European football has been prevalent for years and is something that FIFA, the governing body for world football have been struggling to tackle for over a decade. They have been trying to promote their campaign against racial discrimination "Say no to racism" since April 2006.
A few months back, Sulley Muntari, a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays for Italian club Pescara had a verbal altercation with rival fans when they started to hurl abuses at him during a Serie-A game last season.
In February 2015, four Chelsea football fans were convicted of racial violence and given suspended prison sentences after a black commuter was pushed off a Paris Métro carriage in Paris while fans chanted: "We're racist, we're racist, and that's the way we like it." The incident took before a UEFA Champions league game between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
