LONMDON — Manchester City's England forward Raheem Sterling has been awarded The Integrity and Impact Award at this year's BT Sport Industry Awards for speaking out on a range of social issues, including racism.

Sterling was recognized for his fight against racism in the sport and for using his platform to call for more action to be taken. He had said this month that more players needed to speak out when they suffered racism to eradicate it from the game.

The 24-year-old also signed a manifesto earlier this week where he said clubs should be handed automatic nine-point deductions and ordered to play three games behind closed doors if their supporters indulged in racist behavior.

Dow Jones Sports Intelligence, the founder of the award, congratulated Sterling for the impact his actions had in addressing racism and other "social issues of diversity and inclusivity".

"He has given new confidence and a voice to other footballers and athletes to speak out when once they may not have done so," Dow Jones head of sport Simon Greenberg said in a statement issued on Thursday.

"He has sparked the sports media and the industry more widely to consider conscious or sub-conscious racial bias in their actions."

Sterling was presented with the award by England manager Gareth Southgate, who received the Leadership in Sport Award on behalf of the FA for building a new atmosphere in the dressing room which helped his team reach the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.

PFA to gather evidence

of online racial abuse

England's Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) has called on players to submit evidence of online racial abuse they have suffered so they can highlight the problem to governing bodies.

The PFA said it would also present the evidence to the Football Association and the government and had arranged meetings with social media platforms Twitter and Facebook.

It follows a spate of high-profile incidents this season that led to some players boycotting social media for 24 hours under the PFA's #enough campaign.

"We are preparing to take our anti-racism message to government and social networks and have asked members to submit any evidence of racist abuse received online to an email address set up specifically for this purpose," a PFA statement said.

"We will spend the next few weeks collating the player's abuse as evidence of the scale and impact of the problem. This will be used to demonstrate the severity of the issue to the Sports Minister, as well as Facebook/Instagram and Twitter."

While England's black players suffered abuse in a recent Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro, there have been incidents much closer to home, both during games and on social media.

Manchester City's Raheem Sterling suffered alleged racist abuse this season during his side's defeat at Chelsea while a banana skin was thrown towards Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the north London derby.

Watford teammates Troy Deeney, Adrian Mariappa and Christian Kabasele receive racist abuse on social media while Manchester United's Young was also abused online following Manchester United's Champions League defeat in Barcelona.

Chelsea's Sarri fined after

accepting misconduct charge

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has been fined 8,000 pounds ($10,320) by the Football Association after accepting a misconduct charge from Monday's 2-2 Premier League draw against Burnley.

The Italian, 60, was sent to the stands by referee Kevin Friend in stoppage time after losing his cool during the closing moments of a heated clash at Stamford Bridge. The FA confirmed the sanction in a statement on Thursday.

Sarri's assistant Gianfranco Zola said Burnley's backroom staff had "offended" Sarri while Chelsea's David Luiz and Burnley's Ashley Barnes were involved in a scuffle after the final whistle at Stamford Bridge. Afterwards Luiz accused Burnley of "anti-football". — Reuters