Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha says that he is racially abused in most matches he plays for the Premier League side.

There have been a number of high-profile incidents this season involving players – such as Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – being racially abused by fans.

And Zaha has said that he receives sickening abuse almost every time he steps out onto the grass.

“Nearly every game I’m called a monkey or a n***** or a whatever,” Zaha told The Jackal magazine.

“Imagine if I really got down about that?”

Zaha added: “I don’t know if we’re animals to them or whatever. Why is this OK?

“Why are you saying these things right next to your five-year-old kid?

“And then, when you leave, what, you’re back to being a normal dad, working a normal job? People mask this stuff.”

And Zaha also explained what he has been doing to cope with the anger he feels from the disgusting abuse.

He continued: “Do you know how tiring it is, being angry? It’s a waste of time. There’s so much more to be happy about.

“For a couple of weeks, I’ve been speaking to a kind of life coach.

“With football, you get to a point where you start to think, ‘Do I still love it, or am I doing it as a job?

“Going into a game with that mentality, that hunger, ‘I want to score, I want to score’. Just saying stuff to myself like, ‘I’ll make a difference to today’s game’.

“And when I go, blaze music in the car until I get there. The only thing that can prevent me from reaching my goal is my mentality, or injury.”