Pre-World Cup, Raheem Sterling hit the tabloid headlines over a new tattoo. It was an assault rifle on his lower right leg. It had a deeper meaning than one would presume on the surface said Sterling. It was connected to his father being gunned down and a personal promise that he would never touch a gun in his life. That was not the first time the England international was targetted by sections of the England media - The Sun and Daily Mail in particular. "How many people do you see get the criticism Sterling gets?" Ian Wright asked on BBC 5 Live on Monday night. The former Arsenal striker believes there is a media agenda against the Manchester City forward. The football criticism is something every player has to deal with, but what he gets I don’t see any other footballer getting. They don’t get that stick because for whatever reason they don’t rub up the people in the corridors of power the wrong way. I think there is an agenda against him. Sterling was born in Jamaica but moved to England as a child. Wright said that behind the agenda is a racist element. "When you look at the wave of criticism that he takes, it's tinged... there is a certain amount of racism towards it — what else can it be? Advertisement "They are picking on him because of the background he has come from and they literally want to keep him down. Whatever he does, however high he reaches, they want to drag that back down. It's almost like they don’t want him to continue to be a success. "When he's at Manchester City, he's comfortable, he's happy; when he's with England, he's out there for everybody to knock and have a go at. "There's an element of people at the high end of media that want to keep that guy down." 🗣"They want to keep him down, however high he reaches. They don't want him to continue to be a success" Powerful stuff from @IanWright0, who says some criticism of Raheem @Sterling7 in the media is 'tinged with racism'. pic.twitter.com/GMQ3zfMEDm — BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) August 13, 2018 Picture credit: Shutterstock.com<doc-sep>Last updated on .From the section Man City Ian Wright says the media criticism of Raheem Sterling is 'tinged with racism'. Criticism of Manchester City and England winger Raheem Sterling is motivated by racism, says former Arsenal striker Ian Wright. Sterling, 23, has faced frequent media disapproval, most recently for a tattoo of a rifle on his leg but also for purchasing clothes from Primark and buying his mother a house. He was also criticised over his World Cup performances for England in Russia. "How many people do you see get the criticism Sterling gets?" Wright said. "The football criticism is something every player has to deal with, but what he gets I don't see any other footballer getting," former England forward Wright added on BBC Radio 5 live's Monday Night Club. "They don't get that stick because for whatever reason they don't rub up the people in the corridors of power the wrong way. I think there is an agenda against him. "There is an element of people at high end of the media who want to keep that guy down. Simple. "When you look at the wave of criticism that he takes, there is a certain amount of racism towards it - what else can it be? "They are picking on him because of the the background he has come from and they want to keep him down, drag him back down. They don't want him to continue to be a success. "People say you are playing the racism card, but you give me a good reason why Raheem Sterling gets the stick he gets for just being a footballer." Sterling received consistently low ratings on the BBC Sport website's Player Rater tool during the World Cup. His average rating was 4.66 - leaving him above only Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck. During the tournament in Russia, Sterling wrote a blog post for The Players' Tribune external-link in which he said he no longer worries about the media "picking on him". Ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton, also speaking on 5 live, said: "I think the outside stuff did affect his World Cup performances." He added: "I don't understand it because last season for City he really matured into a top player. He was one of the reasons why they were so devastating. "There seems to be an element of people in this country who delight in kicking him and I don't get it."<doc-sep>
I an Wright has accused sections of media of having a racially motivated agenda against Raheem Sterling. Coverage of the Manchester City and England forward dominated the build-up to the summer World Cup in the country, with a new tattoo of an assault rifle on his right leg which was deemed "totally unacceptable" and "sickening" the focus. Sterling responded by outlining the "deeper meaning" of the tattoo in light of his father being shot dead during his childhood. Wright believes the criticism Sterling receives is different to any other player - and says that it can only be down to the colour of his skin. He told BBC Radio 5 live: "How many people do you see get the criticism Sterling gets? "The football criticism is something every player has to deal with, but what he gets I don't see any other footballer getting. "They don't get that stick because for whatever reason they don't rub up the people in the corridors of power the wrong way. I think there is an agenda against him." Wright believes Sterling, who was born in Jamaica before moving to London as a youngster, is being "picked on" because of his background and because people do not want him to be a success. He added: "There is an element of people at high end of the media who want to keep that guy down. Simple. Sterling 'feeling the love' ahead of World Cup departure "When you look at the wave of criticism that he takes, there is a certain amount of racism towards it - what else can it be? "They are picking on him because of the background he has come from and they want to keep him down, drag him back down. They don't want him to continue to be a success. "People say 'you are playing the racism card', but you give me a good reason why Raheem Sterling gets the stick he gets for just being a footballer."