Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
England’s stand in Sofia was great but the issue of racism at home is still far from black and white
MONDAY night was a proud one for everyone who loves football and hates racism.
In the toxic Sofia stadium there was unity and courage across the entire England team, dignified leadership from Gareth Southgate and vocal support from the vast majority of travelling fans towards their black players in the face of monkey grunts and Nazi salutes.
In the ITV studio, Ian Wright (circled, top) spoke powerfully about it being a “great day” in the fight against racism, expressing sympathy for the wider Bulgarian public and hammering UEFA’S paltry fines and lip-service banners as meaningless.
But before we ride our high horse into the sunset believing England is now a global trailblazer in the fight against racism, let’s pause and listen to some of the people on the front-line.
Like Stan Collymore (circled, middle), who decided not to go to Prague and Sofia because of the growing far-right presence that attaches itself to England. He posted a tweet dripping with irony: “Watching Bulgaria fans racially abuse players makes me realise how lucky England are to have travelling (ones) that wouldn’t touch far-right chants, symbols, insignia and hand gestures with a barge pole.” As anyone unfortunate enough to be caught up in a foreign city square when England fans start spewing supremacist bigotry about the Germans
or Irish knows, our house is far from in order. Ask Dover boss Andy Hessenthaler, who only 26 days ago in Hartlepool, felt the same sick emotion as Southgate (below) after black players were racially abused by fans.
“At one stage I wanted to come off the pitch,” he said. “I didn’t like what was going on. I felt it in my stomach… It’s a crazy day, a sad day for football.”
Then there’s John Barnes. On this most complex of subjects the man is, to me, its most profound thinker. The one marching to a different drum beat but playing the right tune.
On the morning of the Sofia game,
Barnes (circled, bottom) was quoted defending English football’s comparative lack of bigotry.
“Ye s , you have people shouting racist abuse and throwing bananas on the field, and there are issues regarding the lack of black coaches and managers in the game,” he said. “But which other industry allows a young black boy the exact same opportunity as a young white boy?”
His point being, look at other highly-paid professions like the law, journalism, politics, the civil service etc, and you’ll find the overwhelming majority of jobs belong to white people. Which may give context to Collymore’s refusal to appear on Good Morning Britain, to discuss the events in Sofia, on the grounds he would have felt like the token black face invited on to mainstream TV for a two-minute soundbite whenever racism rears is head. He’d argue where are the other invites? Where are the other black faces?
Research into ITV’S diversity by a Sunday newspaper only the previous day showed that out of 18 hours of output, just 24 minutes were presented by a non-white broadcaster, ITN newsreader Nina Hossain. Listen to the complete lack of self-awareness from the holder of the top job in the land, white, Old Etonian Boris Johnson, who leapt on to the England bandwagon by demanding UEFA drives racism “out of football once and for all”.
A Prime Minister on record for mocking Africans as “piccaninnies with water melon smiles” and likening muslim women in burkas to post boxes and bank robbers.
This country should feel proud of its football team for their brave actions in Sofia on Monday. But before patting ourselves on the back too much we should remember that taking a stand against discrimination in football grounds is all very well. But when it flourishes unchecked outside it, as the surge in our country’s hate-crime figures show, then the likes of Barnes and Collymore are spot-on when they argue the root problem is being white-washed.