During these last few murky weeks, football has really had to sit down and examine whether it has a problem with racism. It’s been a painful introspection, and brought a lot of voices to the fore, notably players such as Jason Roberts, association heads such as Gordon Taylor and campaigning bodies such as Kick it Out. Not all of them have been unified, and a clear vision seems a long way out on the horizon at present.
Perhaps the most visible response to the recent FA charge of John Terry, (but presumably a response in general to heightened racial tension within the game) was Jason Roberts’ refusal to wear pre-match Kick it Out shirts. Other players such as Rio Ferdinand supported him in the gesture, designed to show their frustration with the perceived lack of a strong response to a growing blight in the game.
Refusing to wear the t-shirts has implicitly linked the debate to Kick it Out and whether they are doing enough to fight racism. Patches on clothing seems like a rather meek response to a lot of people, but it’s an unfair load for the masses to lay at their door. Kick it Out is a charitable organisation with no legislative powers. It is part funded by the FA, PFA and Premier League, but is not controlled by any of them. It exists to educate about discrimination and promote inclusive practices within the footballing community.
However, the funding from the FA ties the organisation to them, and with the FA handing John Terry a noticeably short 4 game ban, the players have been placed in a situation where they are being asked to wear an anti-racism t-shirt from an affiliate of the very body that had just demonstrated racism to be marginally more serious than a straight red card. It’s not hard to understand why the players may have considered it offensive and decided not to wear them.
What the debate has really shown is that the players are able to wield more power than the charitable bodies. Refusing to wear Kick it Out t-shirts has highlighted the issue that football has, more in one week has than a season of slogans and advertising hoardings could ever do. At this point it’s important to note that the ‘issue’ is not nearly as bad as it was in the late 70’s and 80’s when black players could expect fearsome abuse from the terraces. Looking at the appalling scenes in the recent Serbia vs England Under 21’s match really highlights how far we have come as a nation in promoting tolerance and respect for other regardless of skin colour or ethnicity. The ‘issue’ is whether we deal with racism effectively in the blessedly rare instances in which it occurs.
So the light shines on the FA, PFA and the clubs themselves. The players clearly think that not enough has been done in recent events, so what should the response be? The clubs themselves are more often than not driven by money and unwilling to punish their players too punitively for fear of losing them.