Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IT’S TIME TO BAN TEAMS FOR RACISM ON THE TERRACES JENAS
RACISM was rife on England duty. I could pick half a dozen games where it stood out and we thought: What the hell is happening here?
But one night in my England career stands out.
Playing against Spain, in the Bernabeu in
November 2004, was a shocking experience.
We lost 1-0 but the noises that came down from the terraces were terrible and condemned right up to the level of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Shaun Wright-phillips, Ashley Cole (right), and in other games, Emile Heskey, would be the ones that got targeted the most. The monkey chants... you would hear them really loud.
How does that feel as a person of black heritage? It is very hurtful.
I was raised by a dad who played semiprofessional football, for Kettering Town, Shepshed, lots of clubs, and I used to follow him around the grounds as a kid. And racism in the ‘80s was massive. Huge.
When it happens at grassroots, or semi-pro level, it feels very personal because you can hear every word from people close to the touchline.
I remember my dad Dennis instilling certain values with regards racism on the pitch. It was always a “ram it down their throat on the pitch” mentality.
Be strong, rise above it, don’t react. He always used John Barnes as a strong role model in my house. Others are hurt in a different way. I have had chats with Danny Rose about what he felt like when he went through it.
It got him down. It upset him.
Most players can deal with a raucous atmosphere, even threatening behaviour.
When it starts to be about something you have no control over, the colour of your skin, something you are proud of, and people still think it is acceptable to do Nazi salutes and monkey chants, on a basis you are black... that for some players can really bring them down.
As an England player I remember there being no support at that time from the FA. No talk of ever walking off the football pitch. It was just a bit like: Deal with it, and we will talk about it afterwards.
I am not having a go at people for that. No one thought it was acceptable, it was just the way it was 15 years ago.
I don’t point fingers of blame at Sven Goran Eriksson, or his No.2 Steve Mcclaren, Becks as captain, or Gary Neville, because there was no protocol to follow. There was no step-by-step process to deal with it.
When we came off the pitch everyone knew what had happened, but no one really said anything, other than: “That was a disgrace”, and you moved on. What we are seeing now is a group of England players who have a really good support system around them.
I know they are discussing in-house how to handle situations. They have strong role models. Look at Raheem Sterling and how he has take the fight on personally.
One of the pleasing things for me as I watched the game against Bulgaria was thinking: Stay on the pitch lads and ram it down their throats. All those goals went in and they remained professional.
The players acted with so much class from captain Harry Kane back to Jordan Pickford.
Look at Tyrone Mings, a very intelligent young lad.
As offended as he was, he kept his mind. It was his debut, he remained focused and allowed the authorities to deal with it.
That may not have happened in another era. It may have spilled over.
Nations should be banned from the competition for racism on the terraces. It is now up to UEFA to act.
I know there is still an issue in England. I think it is more individual here.
You can pick out the two or three offenders when it happens.
We, as a country in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s were banned from Europe because of hooliganism.
And that is the kind of stance I want taken against the racists.