‘I will bloody see it through’ – Ugo Monye makes ‘stamina’ pledge as racism case continues and his ‘sleepwalk’ warning ahead of Olympics and Euros
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When Ugo Monye reported he had been racially abused leaving a rugby match at Exeter in November he said he hoped the police investigation would not be a lengthy process.
Today marks 162 days since what he claimed was the “most blatant racism I’ve seen from a supporter at a live game” and the case is ongoing.
He has come off X, weary from reporting other experiences of “blatant” racism to the social media platform and nothing being done. But this case he will not walk away from.
Six months and counting
“It’s been nearly six months and I’m still waiting to see what the next step is,” Monye says. “Initially I was so angry, so frustrated. I thought, ‘it’s just not worth the hassle’. But you have to.
“Rio Ferdinand messaged to say he went through something similar and it took about two and a half years to get a guy prosecuted who racially abused him in the stand.
“It is no wonder people in these type of situations often choose not to prosecute. You have to have a proper stamina to go through it. But I do have that stamina, I can stay with it and I will bloody see it through. 100 per cent. Whatever happens.”
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Monye will tomorrow be at Twickenham for the Rugby Black List Awards, an occasion which celebrates black achievement on and off the rugby pitch at all levels as well as highlighting black role models in the sport.
The former England and Lions star takes the responsibilities that come with his elevated status seriously and is intent on improving the lot of those following in his footsteps.
“Growing up, I didn’t have too many people to look up to that looked like me,” he explains. “I was born in Islington and one of the reasons I support Arsenal is I love Ian Wright. He looked like me and sounded like me. I thought I could connect with him.
“This occasion tomorrow is under the banner of colour and ethnicity, but it’s actually about representation.”
In a Planet Rugby interview earlier this month cross-code legend Martin Offiah revealed he was happy his son Tyler, an England schoolboy rugby star, was born into this social media age rather than the one in which he often ran the gantlet of terrace abuse.
“I think the world is a much better place now,” declared Offiah snr. “I’m far more comfortable with Tyler going into the world he is and not having to experience the type of things I had to in the 80s. I wouldn’t want anyone to experience that.”
Monye, 41, acknowledges changing times but is not persuaded that things are so much better now.
“With social media we have platforms which give voices to faceless bullies,” he says. “And because there is no deterrent, and often no consequence to people’s actions, it further underlines a standard of bad behaviour which is deemed acceptable.
“The more you post and you get away with it, without fear of consequence and with no deterrent in place, people would be ignorant to think that type of behaviour and viewpoint just stays online.
“It doesn’t. It manifests itself into the physical. So the person who’s wanting to abuse racially, or homophobically, or misogynistically, will then take that into their social life, their day to day, their physical life.”
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Monye is unhappy with the lack of governance and accountability on social media from companies he insists “just don’t care enough”.
He attended a meeting last week with various sporting bodies and representatives of Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook.
“What was the phrase used? We’re in a ‘national health crisis with social media’,” he says. “There were about 15 people and we were there for 90 minutes.
“It would be an unfair expectation to think we’d solve online abuse in that time but there was a willingness from social media companies to come forward and properly be part of the debate, not hide away from it.
“Now we’ve had that meeting we can’t turn back because we’ve got the Olympics and the Euros this summer. We know what happened in 2020 when we last hosted the Euros. And that, basically, nothing was done about it.”
Monye refers to the storm of online racist abuse Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were subjected to after missing from the spot as England lost the final to Italy in a penalty shootout.
“We cannot sleepwalk into another situation where we have our brightest athletes competing for our national glory and yet are exposed to violence, abuse… constant abuse, which seems so readily to be accepted on certain platforms.
“That’s what allows people to get away with it,” he adds. “If there is no deterrent, if people aren’t being prosecuted, they’re not scared to behave in a certain way. It becomes normalised.”
Can’t turn a blind eye
Monye says he feels compelled to use the platform rugby has given him “to discuss and have meaningful conversations that matter way beyond winning or losing” matches.
“I don’t want to be known as Ugo, that lad that campaigns against racism,” he says. “But also I can’t turn a blind eye to it.
“And, by the way, this isn’t just about race. It’s about everything. It’s about equality and opportunity. That’s really where I want to use the majority of my energy, for sure.”
For information on the Rugby Black List Awards visit rugbyblacklist.com