We’ve made great strides but some days I think we’re back to square one
Mobility (sales) Funeral arrangements ‘RACISM BATTLE NEVER OVER’
WHEN Gareth Southgate, Phil Neville, Dan Ashworth and other senior FA coaches sat down for a presentation by Troy Townsend earlier this year, they were shocked by some of the things they saw and heard.
“Disgusting,” was one of the words England boss Southgate used when discussing that meeting back in March.
Kick It Out’s education officer had highlighted some of the discrimination faced by people in the game and made clear just how much work there is still to be done.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of Kick It Out, and Townsend (above) said: “I’m very proud we’ve reached this landmark.
“When the organisation started, people would have questioned what impact would we have on the game and I still think those questions are asked.
“But the impact we have had, not just in bringing discriminatory cases to light but helping people through the process of what you have to do to challenge discrimination in the football environment, the support we give players, the work we do with fans, is something we’re very proud of. It is a fight to keep the game clean and every time there’s an incident on our pitches it sets you back and people start asking questions.
“But the fact you have someone like Gareth mentioning in a press conference that we need to get our own house in order before we challenge other nations definitely helps.
“He’s right, although we’re in a better place than any other footballing nation even though we are such a diverse nation now in the Premier League and EFL.”
Townsend used an Instagram post by Steven Gerrard to demonstrate the problems caused by social media. The former Liverpool and England captain had posted a picture celebrating his nephew Bobby Duncan’s hattrick in an England Under-16 victory over Brazil, in which Duncan was surrounded by several black team-mates.
Townsend added: “People were writing comments saying this should be an African team, a team from Senegal, and that just goes to show the continuing challenges we have.
“Social media is an everincreasing challenge and it provides an open forum for people to express themselves in a manner I don’t think they would in the street.” Raheem Sterling was kicked four times on the leg in a racist attack outside Manchester City’s training ground last year, leading to a man being jailed.
Townsend said that despite high-profile cases of racist behaviour in the Premier League, many of the most shocking incidents occur at grass-roots level.
“It’s quite concerning that the Asian community still feel victimised on our grassroots pitches quite a bit, there are references to 9-11, aeroplane sounds, things about how every Muslim or Asian person is a terrorist,” he said.
“We’ve known occasions when those kind of noises have been made during the respect handshake at the start of a game. The game can’t rest on its laurels.”