Dwight Yorke wants points deductions over racist incidents

Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke says tougher action is needed against perpetrators of racism.

Yorke wants to see racism eradicated from the sport and thinks points deductions and bans rather than fines are the way to tackle the problem.

England players were subjected to racist abuse during the 5-1 win in Montenegro on Monday and UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings.

Yorke, who starred for Aston Villa and United in the Premier League, does not think financial sanctions go far enough in such cases.

"I think a fine is not good enough," said Yorke. "I think we have made progress over the years where racism is concerned, but it's certainly been coming back into the game.

"It's something that we need to eradicate from our sport, and the only way you can do that is making very difficult decisions.

"Money is not an issue, we need to have points deductions, you know, getting these [racist] guys banned from games.

"I think the people who are in charge have to really make some very, very tough decisions, and we've seen fines are just not enough."

Meanwhile, Yorke has been enjoying his former club Manchester United's impressive revival in recent months and agrees that caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves plenty of credit.

"He's done a remarkable job, a job that we're all very proud of," said Yorke.

"He brought that identity back to the football club, and we're playing great stuff, winning football matches and that's what matters.

"He's got eight more games remaining, let's hope he continues in that vein of winning football matches, and then a decision will be made on his (managerial) career."

United face Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals next month and Yorke thinks they have a chance of toppling the Spanish giants.

"It's a team that we're very familiar with," he said.

"We had success against them, but also we've been on the receiving end, so in my opinion, we have a 50-50 chance.

"It's all about the day and staying in the tie in the second leg."

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