The Manchester United midfielder was allegedly abused and struck by an object at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Fred has said that racist incidents, such as the abuse he suffered in Saturday’s Manchester derby, are evidence of “a backward society.”

Television footage showed a fan apparently making a monkey gesture toward the Brazilian midfielder and Manchester United team-mate Jesse Lingard . Soon after the incident Fred was hit by at least one object thrown from the stands.

Manchester City have said that any fan guilty of racism in the ground will be banned for life.

“Unfortunately we are still in a backwards society,” Fred told  ESPN Brazil . “[It’s a shame] we still have to live with that in 2019. On the field I didn’t see anything, I saw it only in the locker room afterwards.

“The guys showed me. He even threw a lighter and it hit me. I try not to care about that. I try to look ahead.”

The player, who joined United from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018, acknowledged that the problem happens elsewhere, but said giving the abusers attention only served their interests.

He also called for unity, such as his team-mates demonstrated in the dressing room after the game, a 2-1 win for his team.

“Unfortunately, this is happening in some stadiums. It happened here, it happened in Ukraine with some friends. It’s sad, but we have to keep our heads up and forget about that.

“We can’t give them any attention because that’s all they want. I spoke to the referee after the match, they will do something about it and that’s all.

“We are all the same regardless of skin colour, hair and gender. We came from the same place and we all go to the same place when it’s all said and done.

“Thank God I have a lot of friends here in the locker room who hugged me, like Lingard.

“I don’t want to think about it. I just want to move on.”

Fred enjoys the support of his manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who called the incident “unacceptable” and opposing boss Pep Guardiola, who said he thought the club would “take the right decision so it doesn’t happen again.”

The FA’s anti-discrimination campaign, Kick It Out, said they hoped “swift action” would be taken.

Source – Goal.com