Raheem Sterling has met with the young player he recently wrote a message of support to.

13-year-old Ethan Ross suffered racist abuse at his school in South Wales and was urged to stay strong by Sterling in a letter written to him last month: “Remember speaking up doesn’t always make life easy, but easy never changed anything.”

The pair got a chance to meet on Saturday when Manchester City and Newport County played against each in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Sterling posted a photo of the two of them to Instagram after the game saying: "It was probably as heartwarming for me as it was for you to finally meet up, Ethan. Again, always be proud of who you are, and never stay silent."

Sterling, who himself has suffered racial abuse, bravely spoke out recently in a well-considered post on Instagram that has changed the narrative on racism in football from finger pointing at a select number of racist “fans” who ruin the game to questioning the dialogue of certain sections of the mainstream media, who have persistently undermined black footballers like Sterling via a long-standing and toxic agenda.

Sterling is going above and beyond and should be applauded.