ANDY RUTHERFORD takes a glance back at the week that was in his weekly column The Weekender

FOOTBALL is at a crossroads.

Once again this week, the game has been overshadowed by the issue of racial abuse from the terraces, this time towards Juventus striker Moise Kean.

Sadly, the teenager's reaction - spreading his arms in front of the opposition fans who were abusing him - has become the story, not least because one of his teammates and his manager laid some of the blame at his door.

Which is to ignore the fundamental issue, that increasing numbers of football fans continue to believe it is perfectly OK to racially abuse players - subject them to monkey chants, throw bananas onto the pitch, scream the 'n' word and appalling derivatives thereof.

England's Raheem Sterling replied to such ignorant vituperation in Montenegro last week with a goal and a perfectly pitched celebratory response.

But it is vital to realise that for all the visual defiance he, Kean and others demonstrate, there is a psychological impact.

Sterling and Kean, for all their outward strength, cannot come away from these incidents totally unscathed, and there are undoubtedly others for whom the hurt runs deeper.

Football authorities' reactions globally to instances of racism have been shamefully weak, mainly consisting of paltry fines against national associations, and the imposition of behind-closed-doors home matches.

These measures aren't working. It is time for tougher sanctions - points deductions, expulsion from competitions - and if that doesn't happen, it is time for players to walk off when they hear racial abuse.

That means when it is directed at them, or a teammate. Teams and individuals, incredibly, may face sanctions for such things, but it will only take a couple of high profile walk-offs for the authorities to realise that racism must be punished far more severely.