Former Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber has reportedly sparked anger among Raheem Sterling and several other black players after comments he made in an interview with a local newspaper.
Webber, who left the Canaries in November, told PinkUn that Sterling, Max Aarons and three other black players would be in jail if it wasn’t for football.
The remarks came in an article where Webber was discussing his pending attempt to climb Mount Everest for charity next month.
Webber said: ‘We want to help the guys who really need it, not the ones who are maybe privileged. I saw that with our young footballers.
‘Jonny Rowe wouldn’t mind me saying it but him, Abu Kamara, Max (Aarons), Jamal (Lewis), Raheem (Sterling) back in the day at Liverpool, where they come from it had to work out for them in football, because the alternative is potentially jail or something else.’
Raheem Sterling is among the players left furious by former Norwich City chief Stuart Webber
Webber, 39 – who served as Norwich’s sporting director from 2017 to 2023 – said Sterling is one of five black players who could have ended up in jail if it didn’t work out for them in football
One of the other players Webber referred to was former Norwich right back Max Aarons
Following the shocking remarks in the interview – which which went out on Saturday and is still available online at the time of writing – the Mirror reported all the players and their families were left furious, shocked and deeply offended.
One of the players is said to have requested an explanation from Webber after contacting him directly.
Webber is believed to understand he made a grave mistake with the comments and apologised after speaking to some of the players and their families.
However, the Mirror also claims he is yet to speak to Sterling or any of the Chelsea forward’s family.
Webber was Liverpool’s director of recruitment from 2009 to 2012, with Sterling joining Liverpool at the age of 15 in 2010.
Webber subsequently held roles as head of scouting at QPR and Wolves, before he became sporting director at Huddersfield Town between 2015 and 2017.
The 39-year-old then moved to Norwich, where he spent six six years in the role until his exit in November.
The four other players Webber mentioned are in relation to his Norwich days, with right back Aarons moving to Bournemouth for £7million in August having come through the ranks at Carrow Road.
Meanwhile, Lewis broke into Norwich’s team at a similar time before leaving to join Newcastle in 2020, with the left back currently on loan at Watford.
Rowe, 20, is a winger and one of Norwich’s star players, while Kamara is spending the season on loan at Portsmouth after joining the Carrow Road club’s academy at the age of 10.
The local outlet PinkUn is also reportedly under fire, with questions being raised about how Webber’s comments were left unchallenged in the interview.
In response, Troy Townsend, who is Head of Player Development at Kick It Out, an anti-racism charity, said: ‘Football or jail it is then? An absolute disgrace.’
There was also furious reaction publicly from family members of the players, with Aarons’ mother, Amber, accusing Webber of ‘casual racism’.
She posted on X: ‘I’m shocked at Stuart Webbers casual racism and blatant disrespect for all of these black players and their families. As @maxaarons2 mum and a good friend of @jamal_lewis1 mum I know there in not a chance any of those boys, now would have been in jail.’
Lewis’ mum, Catrina, also said: ‘That’s not true at all…. Very unprofessional comment to make!!! How can that assumption be made Stuart???,’ before Aarons’ mother replied: ‘Inherent racism, I can’t think of more professional and level headed people than the players SW has labelled.’
Webber’s comments also sparked outrage from several Norwich fans, as the remarks were labelled ‘disgraceful’, ‘horrendous’ and ‘shameful’, while others urged him to ‘apologise for his appalling racism’.
Norwich star Jonathan Rowe was also mentioned by Webber as potentially ending up in jail
The players, which also included Jamal Lewis (left – no 6) and Abu Kamara (right – no 25), were reported to be left upset, shocked and furious by Webber’s comments with local outlet PinkUn
Webber’s views on the five players come after he also made controversial remarks about women’s football last year.
Speaking in May, the 39-year-old openly admitted to not watching women’s football – despite investing in that side of the sport with the club, whose side play in the FA Women’s National League Division One South East.
‘Women’s football, I do not watch it,’ he told The Athletic. ‘It’s of zero interest to me in terms of on the telly because I watch enough men’s football and if I’m not watching that, I want to watch other sports.
‘It’s a choice which I think should be OK.’
Norwich women played their first game at Carrow Road in April, which attracted 7,585 fans when they took on Ashford Town.
Webber added at the time: ‘That was the first women’s game I’ve been to because it’s not an interest to me. I don’t mind admitting that.’
