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SPEAKING OUT: Paul Pogba

PAUL POGBA has said that Raheem Sterling is treated differently by the media and he does not get the respect he deserves.

The Manchester United midfielder’s comments come after Tottenham’s Danny Rose expressed his support for Sterling following his statement on how disproportionately negative coverage of black players fuels racism.

Pogba told Sky News: "He has ridiculous stats, he's scored goals and made a hat-trick not long ago. He's been top with City.

"What I've been seeing is he's been criticised for houses and what I've been hearing things about, but nobody talks about what he's been doing on the pitch.

"Maybe if he was somebody else, it would be different."

Sterling has scored 15 goals in 27 Premier League appearances this season, making him one of the league’s top scorers and one of the favourites for the PFA Player of the Year award.

Pogba said: "When somebody is doing a great job, he should deserve the same reward as somebody else who does the same job."

Rose has said that Sterling was “100 per cent spot on” with his statement on the media and racism last year.

Sterling wrote a lengthy post on Instagram that linked the negative reporting of black footballers by mainstream newspapers and racism that those sportsmen receive on and off the pitch.

He published the statement after he was the target of racial abuse during a match against Chelsea in December last year.

Racism rears head in Europa League

PICTURED: Callum Hudson-Odoi

During Chelsea’s match against Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine last Thursday, Callum Hudson-Odoi was subjected to monkey chants.

Hudson-Odoi, 18, informed captain Cesar Azpilicueta of the racist abuse, which was then reported to the referee.

The matter is now set to be investigated by Uefa.

In a statement, Chelsea said: “We can confirm a report of racist abuse directed at one of our players in the final minutes of the match in Kiev from a small section of home supporters. We wholeheartedly condemn such abhorrent behaviour.

“The matter was reported to the referee at the final whistle and the chairman and club secretary spoke to the UEFA match delegate immediately after the match. We expect UEFA to conduct a fulsome investigation and we will provide full cooperation.”

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