Former Barca man Toure opens up on racism struggles

Yaya Toure spoke out on the racist behaviour he encountered during his tenure at Metalurh Donetsk in 2003.

"At first I felt humiliated," Toure said. "Then I was angry. Songs imitating a monkey were worse than anything else. Sometimes even my own fans did it. I tried to get used to it. 'Black s***, black s***, go home!' they said to me."

"It was a tough time and the worst thing about it was that I had to live through it in every game," he continued. "I remember calling my father to tell him what they were doing and about the monkey shouts. I told him how bad I felt and he told me to play and to be strong, because he didn't want me to be upset by it and he didn't know how bad I felt.

"One day he came to visit me and when he went to sit down all the white people moved away from him and sat somewhere else. 'What's the matter, do I smell bad?" he said - it didn't bother him."

Toure also proposed a solution for fighting racism: "If a footballer is offended then the whole team should leave the pitch."

Former Barcelona midfielder has always been vocal about his struggles. Last summer, he accused ex-Barca coach Pep Guardiola of unfair treatment of African players. 

"Maybe us Africans aren't always treated the same by certain people," Toure said. "When you see the problems [Pep] has often had with African players, everywhere he has been, I ask myself questions. He's too intelligent to be caught. He'll never admit [not liking African players]. But the day he picks a team with five Africans in it, I promise I will send him a cake!"