Kolkata, June 10: Terming it a societal problem, former Mali and Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute on Wednesday hoped the mass protests against racism following the death of George Floyd is a wake up for the society. As far as racism in football is concerned, Kanoute said stronger 'steps and measures' to tackle the menace should have been taken long ago. Footballers and clubs have expressed their support to the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign which has erupted following the death of Floyd -- an African-American -- in police custody in the United States.

"It's much more than football. It's throughout society. It's very ingrained in the mind of a lot of people," Malian-French Kanoute, who is one of the LaLiga brand ambassadors, told reporters during an interaction arranged by LaLiga on Wednesday. "The fight is not over and I will support and encourage LaLiga to tackle all form of discrimination and racism but definitely it's never enough. Who Was George Floyd? Why Was He Detained? Here's Why the Death of the 46-Year-Old African-American in Minneapolis Sparked Violent Protests in US.

"There is overt and covert racism. The overt racism maybe not so much there anymore but covert racism is the big part. Hopefully this is a turning point right now with what happened in the US and that everybody is going to wake up. I pray that it is a wake up call for everybody," said the 42-year old who has also played for Tottehnham Hotspur and West Ham United in the English Premier League.

Asked about racism in football, Kanoute said there should be longer sanctions on clubs who are trying to protect their racist fans and players, coaches discriminating in any form. "We can't do enough when it comes to racism. This is something that we have to tackle and it's throughout society. Football is just the tip of the iceberg but we have to go deeper than that.

"So we all have to look in the mirror and tackle it in our society and also in football. "The sanctions have to be longer for the clubs who are supporting this kind of behaviour or protecting their fans when they are acting the wrong way. So I think the clubs that are not taking any steps to tackle their own fans, they should be punished.

"At a personal level also anyone who is racially abusing should be banned. I think if we had taken more severe steps and measures a long time ago, I think we wouldn't be in this situation anymore. "That's why I am saying it will take much more than small campaigns and hashtags to tackle this problem," he concluded.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 10, 2020 09:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).