Players Views

Henrik Larsson

Sweden

Henrik, did you experience racism while you were growing up in Sweden?
Yes, in school I experienced some racism, because back then it was unusual to have a black kid at school, I was one of the few.

How did you feel?

At first I didn't understand what they meant because there were words I had never heard before. Then I started to understand what they were saying and I started to stand up for myself.

Is racism a big problem in Sweden?
I think that it is becoming better, because when I was young there was a lot of it, not only against black people but against foreigners who had come to Sweden to work, because they had trouble in their own countries. I think that it's about to change, I hope so.

Have any of you encountered racism in football?
You always have something, If somebody calls me a nigger I just shake my head. I look at him and say, you are not really right up here, to say something like that, it's crazy.

Do you have a message for Celtic fans?
Of course you can't like everybody, thats impossible; but in terms of colour, to not like somebody because he or she has a different skin - that's stupid. You have to look beyond that because as a human being you have to experience the person from the inside first.