Racism In Sport: A New Discrimination Emerges In Football
If anyone was to argue that any true institutions of meritocracy remain in Britain, there are very few, if any associations which can make a more compelling case than the FA (Football Association). Using the Premier League as a case study, much like other British establishments with vast economic and cultural influence, the League does not mirror wider British society. These elite organisations are overwhelmingly middle to upper class and disproportionately white. The League is very much the inverse, with 33% of players being from ethnic minority backgrounds at the beginning of the 2017/2018 season and the majority of the League being congenitally working class.
Is it therefore such a surprise that recently, a composite of highly-paid, non-white, working class individuals have been subject to high-profile implicit and explicit abuse based on the colour of their skin? The UK’s history of racism in football is just as long as the UK’s history of football. I don’t want to make the claim or even suggest that the United Kingdom is more racist than it was, say, any time in its recent history, but football has become another conduit which illustrates the recent breakdown in race relations, imitating broader society.
It would be great to suggest that the days of explicit racism in football are behind us - but frankly, they are not. Therefore, the crucial question to be asked is, how much progress has been made? Thirty-two years ago, Jamaican-born British footballer John Barnes was subject to racial assault as a banana skin was thrown at him during a Merseyside derby. Three decades after the John Barnes incident, the same thing happened to Gabonese born football player, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang whilst playing for Arsenal in the North London derby in December 2018. Although both events happened during local football derbies where tensions are high, regardless of whether this occurred in 1988 or 2018, I am shocked by the gall of these assailants and their complicity in promulgating the anti-black trope of comparing black people to monkeys.
Of course, some may argue that these events must be taken in isolation and fundamentally, racism in football is a red herring in this country. Unsurprisingly, this take would be wrong. Recent data from Kick It Out, English football’s equality and inclusion organisation, has stated that racist abuse between the 2018/19 and 2019/20 season has risen by 53%. Over the years, there has been comprehensive analyses as to why racism has seemed more apparent in British football. This being the case, I want to focus on some other interesting, topical developments that have transpired in the discussion surrounding football and racism.
In recent years, a menacing motif has creeped into football analysis – reservedly for describing black players. Players such as Yaya Toure, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku to name a few have been praised for their “pace and power” and being referred to as “beasts”. Paul Pogba in particular has fell victim to this. Despite being one of the best technicians in the Premier League, far too often is Pogba praised for his “pace and power”, when clearly it is his technical ability which is most impressive about him. I am not suggesting that Pogba, or any other aforementioned players’, physical attributes do not play a part in their game, it just seems typical and lazy from pundits to focus on them.
Additionally, this trite characterisation of some black players lacking a football brain needs to stop. As an example, the “footballing brain” of Romelu Lukaku has been consistently questioned, especially in his last premier league season at Manchester United. Some may argue that the criticism levied against Lukaku is reasonable – but ask yourself this: why is it only black players whose footballing brains are questioned? I have watched Daniel James for the best part of the year erratically run down the wing and consistently lose the ball and Scott McTominay fire the ball into his teammates’ legs, yet have never heard any one question their footballing brain. I fear that the footballing brain conversation is perpetuating dangerous ideas about race and IQ, an outdated belief about the intellectual inferiority of black people.
On the 26th of August 2020, Sky relieved Matt Le Tissier, Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson of their duties on the Soccer Saturday show. Between them, they had spent roughly 50 years with Sky. The St. George’s flag in bio side of Twitter went into immediate meltdown that day, with diatribes against former footballers Alex Scott and Micah Richards. You may ask – what exactly do these former black professionals have to do with Sky’s decision to sack these individuals? Nothing of course. Neither Scott nor Richards had ever appeared on Soccer Saturday nor had anyone from Sky even considered them as replacements.
Richard Keys, who left Sky Sports in 2011 after making sexist comments towards about a female assistant referee, tweeted on the 28th of August 2020, he states “Everything evolves. Or is it because the guys are male pale & stale?”. Of course it is Sky’s prerogative to decide who hosts this show, but that side of Twitter lambasting two former professional footballers for being touted to take over these roles (despite being a figment of their imagination) “makes for some uncomfortable truths” as Micah tweeted. Ian Wright, former Arsenal player, put it succinctly in a video following the sacking on the 26th stating: “because a black person or a woman might get the opportunity to do this job, why are people upset?”
Some may dispute that these incidents are not racism by offering complex narratives to contradict the current conversation. Whatever your view – whether or not you think there is a new racism emerging in football – you cannot disagree that this is pernicious. It is important to note that I have not mentioned: the under representation of black managers, intense vilification of black players like Sterling by English media, black players always being criticised for their attitude compared to their white counterparts, absurd critiques of black players’ spending habits nor the framing of Harry Maguire’s escapades in Mykonos, just to name a few topics. All of this indicates that something dangerous is going on within football which must be stamped out.
Written by Glenn Gowdie
Glenn is a 23-year-old history graduate who now works in finance. Self-prescribed as 'not much of a scribe’.