When Liverpool and Manchester United clashed on 15 October 2011, everyone expected a passion filled clash, on and off the field. For years, they have been the best of rivals, with fiery incidents entwined with some magical footballing skill. However, no-one expected such a storm to brew after the derby match. As everyone now knows, the incident in question was alleged racist abuse from Liverpool striker Luis Suarez towards United defender Patrice Evra.
Though the allegations were disputed heavily by Liverpool, Suarez was given an eight-game ban from the FA. In defence of their player, in Suarez’s last game before his ban, all of his team-mates trained in tops baring Suarez’s name, number, and picture. Critics accused Liverpool of conflicting with football’s anti-racism campaign, Kick It Out. But just who and what are Kick It Out, and what do they strive to achieve?
Established in 1993, Kick It Out is an independent organisation that sets out to raise awareness, and deal with, all elements of discrimination in football, most specifically targeting racism at all levels of the game. Prior to this, racism was rife in football, with even top international stars such as John Barnes complaining of suffering racial abuse from not just the terraces, but also in behind the scenes.
With the introduction of Kick It Out, racism has slowly been declining in the English game, though still is a major problem in other areas of Europe, such as Macedonia and Turkey, where it tends to be swept under the carpet. So why is it that all of a sudden, the issue of racism in the English game has come to the fore again? Danny Lynch, Head of Communications for Kick It Out, says that the really there is no explanation, telling me that “it has thrown up more questions than answers really.”
Could it simply be a question of cultural differences colliding, especially as the past 10 years has seen the English Premier League receive a massive influx of foreign players? Suarez used this as his defence, as the alleged word he used, “negrito”, is a friendly term of endearment, meaning pal or friend, in his native tongue, Spanish. However, Kick It Out has founded initiatives to help prevent cultural clashes affecting the game, and to educate young players as to where the line is between discrimination and dressing-room banter. “We get on average around one-hour with each player, so although they do get that education, it would be more sustainable in the long run to have more contact time with the players and clubs,” Lynch said.