Thursday 28 March 2019 21:22, UK
Former England manager Roy Hodgson says Raheem Sterling was severely affected by abuse during Euro 2016 in France.
Sterling was criticised by sections of the media after England were held to a 1-1 draw by Russia in their opening game of the tournament.
The Manchester City winger labelled himself 'The Hated One' in an Instagram post after receiving abuse on social media following the draw.
England would go on to be eliminated by Iceland in the last 16 and Hodgson believes Sterling struggled to cope with the abuse he received throughout the tournament.
"I actually followed the programme you had when the mass media's influence was brought up with regard to their attitude towards black players, and Raheem has been quite vocal on that," said Hodgson, referring to the Tackling Racism: The Media programme on Sky Sports News.
"I can certainly back him up on that.
"There is no doubt that in 2016, after playing so well against Russia, the criticism and the abuse that he received from the media and on social media, it had a really bad effect on him.
"It really cost us one of our better players, in my opinion, in that tournament."
Sterling was among a number of England players to be subjected to racist abuse during the recent Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro.
In his post-match comments, Sterling called on football authorities to stamp out racism and Hodgson says he is proud the former Liverpool winger has chosen to take a stand on the issue, after previously criticising racial bias in the media.
"I'm really proud and pleased to see how he's matured, how he's prepared to shoulder this burden," said Hodgson.
"To stand up, it's not easy because he's basically a quiet person.
"Six or seven years ago, when I gave him his debut, he wouldn't have been capable of doing that. This is the level of maturity he's showed.
"And young Callum Hudson-Odoi, to stand out like he did and take those questions after, I'm full of admiration for them really.
"It shows what good work the FA are doing in preparing these players to take on this responsibility in front of the mass media."
