Blow the whistle on the racist fans
THERE is no place for racial abuse in football, but it needs to be tackled as part of a larger problem in the sport. The sad fact is there are many so-called supporters who go to football matches because it enables them to shout abuse at people who are not in a position to retaliate. They abuse the players, opposition supporters and, most of all, the match officials. I doubt if any player gets as much abuse as the referee. If they walked off every time they were insulted by someone in the crowd, very few games would last the full 90 minutes. Only in football has shouting abuse become part of the entertainment. Only in football do each team’s fans have to be herded into separate sections of the ground because of their aggressive and abusive behaviour. In rugby and cricket, home and away fans mingle happily, so why not in football? If the football authorities are serious about stamping out racial abuse, they need to address the wider issue of crowd behaviour.
MIKE HORGAN, Heswall, Wirral. CONGRATULATIONS, England footballers, on your decision to play on in the Euro 2020 qualifying match against Bulgaria. You did the right thing by playing to the end and winning comprehensively. Remember Jesse Owens’s answer to the Nazis — you honoured that legacy. ALEX PEARSON, Alyth, Perth & Kinross. BULGARIA is one of many EU countries with an alarming level of racism. Nazi salutes and monkey chants nearly stopped a game of international football. Do we really want to remain a member of the EU, which has growing problems from the far-Right?
STAN GASTON, Rothesay, Isle of Bute. IF EVERY match Roy Keane played in was halted when he was verbally abused, Manchester United would have finished only their home games. Players should shut out the abuse, get on with it and let their ability and maturity be their response. P. BENNISON, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear. THE new racism protocol by UEFA has been a long time coming and it was good to see the England management and players follow it. But it would be naive to think it is a solution to racism or the hate that is generated at every opportunity, be it in sport or the wider community.
S. T. VAUGHAN, Birmingham. THE only way for UEFA to stamp out fans shouting racist abuse is to ban the national and club teams from all competitions for at least five years. But I’m not holding my breath, as the usual punishment is a paltry fine.
GRAHAM CARR, Harrogate, N. Yorks.