Wijnaldum: I'd walk straight off the pitch if targeted with racial abuse

Holland and Liverpool star Gini Wijnaldum has admitted he would walk straight off from the pitch were he to be targeted with racial abuse from the stands, just as Ahmad Mendes Moreira was recently in a Dutch second division tie.

Hostility in football stadiums appears to be at a record high, with sickening accounts of racism now reported on an alarmingly frequent basis. On Sunday, a clash in Holland between FC Den Bosch and Excelsior saw striker Moreira on the receiving end of alleged racist abuse from supporters of the home side.

Speaking out on the issue, Wijnaldum was joined by national team manager Ronald Koeman on international duty, as the pair used the opportunity of the press conference to make a strong point.

'It came very hard personally, I never expected this to happen in the Netherlands,' said Wijnaldum on the incident. 'I was very shocked.'

When asked how these growing issues should be tackled, Wijnaldum replied: 'Hard fines. I read somewhere that there should be cameras everywhere.

'The punishment must be so harsh that no one will get it to do that. If you play football you are not waiting for that at all.

'That match should not have been completed. If it were to happen to us, I would walk off the field.

'This is a social problem, it is something for politics. Action must be taken against this type of practice. And not only against racism.

'A Hitler salute was also issued. How can you do that? That is really disrespectful, that is simply not possible. And it cannot be accepted either,' added the 29-year-old.

Koeman was in full agreement with his midfielder, and criticised the soft manner with which such serious issues are being handled.

'You just have to leave the field. As a Dutch team we would do the same. Someone has to do it. Every time it is tackled with velvet gloves,' said the national boss.

Prosecutors on behalf of the Dutch football association have said they had opened an investigation into possible racist abuse of Mendes Moreira, which led to the temporary suspension of the match.

The referee decided to take the players off the pitch after the forward was said to have been verbally abused by a section of the home side fans, to which he told the referee he was called a 'n***o and a cotton picker' from the beginning of the game.

Prosecutors said they would study camera footage and would work with local police to establish what exactly had happened during the match and who was involved.

The incident is the latest in a series of racist incidents in European football.

Earlier this month Italian striker Mario Balotelli threatened to walk off the pitch after receiving alleged racist abuse, while in Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk forward Taison was shown a red card after he reacted to racist jeers from the crowd during a match.

Last month, a match between England and Bulgaria was marred by a section of the home supporters taunting the English players with Nazi salutes and monkey chants.