Tijani Babangida remembers the racial abuses at the Da Luz Stadium

Former Nigerian international Tijani Babangida has spoken openly about suffering racial abuse during his playing days, saying the incident occurred at Benfica’s famous stadium, Estádio da Luz.

Babangida said the incident occurred during the 1994/1995 season when he was playing for Roda JC in a European Cup match.

According to the 52-year-old, fans racially attacked him even though the Portuguese team fielded black players in the same match.

Babangida stressed that clubs must take full responsibility for incidents of racism instead of always waiting for governing bodies to act.

“I experienced racism in the 1994/1995 season, I was with Roda JC and we went to play a European Cup match in Portugal.

“They attacked me with racist insults, even though they also had black players. I think we lost the game 1-0.

“Clubs should take responsibility for everything that happens and not always wait for FIFA to make a decision.”

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The Nigerian legend enjoyed a successful career and won Olympic gold at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

He also won the Dutch Eredivisie and KNVB Cup, as well as the Turkish Cup.

Tijani Babangida earned 36 caps for Nigeria, represented the country in two AFCON tournaments and played in the FIFA World Cup.

The highlight of his club career was his time at AFC Ajax.