Discrimination on the rise in game, MPS told

FOOTBALL at all levels is experiencing a rise in instances of discrimination, Kick It Out chair Tony Burnett told a DCMS committee yesterday.

Burnett was among a panel of experts to answer questions from MPS conducting an inquiry into safety at major sporting events, including issues such as personal security, accessibility, and freedom from prejudice.

It comes in the wake of the trouble seen at Wembley and the Stade de France last year and worrying statistics for the 2021-22 season showing a rise in football-related arrests for the first time in almost a decade.

When asked by Damian Green if the perception that football is going back to the 1970s and 1980s is based on anecdote or hard data, Burnett replied: “There’s definitely evidence in the space that we work in and that’s around discrimination.

“If you look at the UK Football Policing Unit, they released a report two weeks ago talking about a 99 per cent increase in hate crime discrimination over the last the last season.

“If you look at the stats that we have around discrimination – and bear in mind that we’re only one source of reporting because 92 clubs have their own sources, which all need to come together – and we see a significant increase in the year to date when it comes to incidents of discrimination.

“And that increase is across the board – it’s racism, it’s LGBTQ+ discrimination, it’s misogyny. We are seeing an increase.

“And it’s not just the professional game, if you look at grassroots football we’re seeing a significant double-digit increase in reports of discrimination there. I think it’s reflective of a broader dynamic in society being absolutely honest.”

Burnett believes the disjointed system for collating and investigating discrimination currently in place across the football leagues needs to be overhauled as a matter of urgency. “For us transparency is disinfectant. Currently 92 football clubs have all got different mechanisms for reporting discrimination - and none of those mechanisms are visible,” Burnett said. “We have no idea what the nature of discrimination reports are and no idea over the length of time it takes to resolve those complaints.

“We have to have transparency of discrimination reporting data so we can see the full picture across the 92 football clubs. “That way we can see the trends but, more importantly, we can understand why the trends are occurring.”

Football Supporters’ Association chief executive Kevin Miles called for a “sense of proportion” when discussing the rise in arrests for 2021-22, explaining that young fans needed to undergo an “element of socialisation” after the Covid interruption.

“There are issues arising in terms of antisocial behaviour which are perhaps on the up, but we are talking about an increase in arrest figures when compared to an all-time low,” Miles said.

“But some of the younger generation need to learn how you behave at football because perhaps that has been missed out on after the hiatus for Covid and that needs to be picked up again.”

The poor quality of stewarding at games was raised as a concern with low pay, lack of training and high turnover of staff pinpointed as areas that must be addressed to improve the matchday experience. The experience of disabled supporters, alcohol availability, terraces and banning orders were also discussed at length.

It’s not just the pro game, grassroots football is seeing a significant double-digit increase in reports of discrimination.

Kick It Out’s Tony Burnett