Anthony Stewart, the Aberdeen captain, says he is ready to forget but not forgive after becoming the target of racial abuse on social media.
A challenging festive period saw the 30-year-old sent off and targeted for the mistake that led to defeat against St Mirren. The defender called it out and said he would not “take racist abuse lightly”. Aberdeen condemned the abuse and launched an investigation.
The perpetrator got back in touch with Stewart but did not apologise, with the defender saying he couldn’t “fault uneducated people” but that he had no interest in engaging in ongoing dialogue.
Stewart said: “It is the first time I have had to deal with something like this. I wouldn’t say it knocked me although it did give me perspective. At the same time, the support from the club has been excellent and as far as I am concerned it has been dealt with. I can’t fault uneducated people but the club took it into their own hands and dealt with it correctly so I am happy with that.”
Asked if he had received an apology, he added: “Not as yet. I haven’t been in contact with him. To be fair, he did message me on social media but I have refused to reply. What is done is done and there is no need for me and him to speak. So I didn’t speak to him. Don’t get me wrong, I am not too sucked into social media. I pick and choose when I want to be on it and when I don’t. I don’t always read comments or interact fully on it. It is just about people understanding me a bit more. Whether you do or not is up to you. But this won’t stop me.”
Advertisement
Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin praised the character of his captain in dealing with both the red card and then the racial abuse and Stewart similarly vowed not to allow the events of the past week to define him.
“As captain and from my own individual standards [getting sent off] was poor,” he admitted. “I don’t really get red cards. Unfortunately I made a mistake to get sent off and I take that on the chin. The one thing about me is that I won’t hide or shy away from the fact that I knew it was a mistake and I let the team down on the day. I will come back stronger.”
Goodwin added: “I had no doubt in my mind about the strength and character the guy has got — that’s why he is our captain. I am disappointed with what happened. He has the full support of everyone here. Hopefully we will have no more of that going forward.”
Stewart and the Aberdeen players had to cope with being booed off following their goalless draw with Ross County on Monday.
“Off the back of four bad results and a draw at home where we know we should be winning, I can understand why they booed us and I get their frustration,” he said. “As players we never like to hear it but we will put things right eventually. There is no hiding place. For the fans to boo us I totally get it. It is a big club and there are high demands.”
