Reid says he’d back walk-off from Scotland
Assistant manager insists he would back firm action in response to racism on pitch
ENOUGH is enough. That is the message players and clubs in Scotland have been delivering over this past weekend, as the alleged racist abuse aimed at Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara by Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela proved to be the final straw.
No more empty gestures.
The time has come for action against a scourge on the game and on society that has become all too prevalent once more in recent times. That too is the message coming loud and clear from the Scotland camp.
Assistant manager Steven Reid feels fortunate that his own playing career was coming to an end just as social media was really taking off, but this is clearly an emotive topic for him having been the victim of sporadic racist abuse himself throughout his life.
He has gone as far as to say that should a Scotland player suffer such abuse in the future, he would be fully behind the team should they choose to walk off the pitch.
“Absolutely, I would,” Reid said. “I think we’re getting to that stage now. It’s now got to be about proper, meaningful action. Something needs to be done. I think time’s come on now from opinions of ‘you should never walk off the pitch’.
“Listen, it’s a player’s decision. If he’s got the support of the players and that’s the action they want to take, then I think we have to totally support that.”
A number of Scottish clubs decided not to take the knee ahead of last weekend’s matches as has become the norm, believing the gesture has become so routine as to lose its impact. Instead, they made a stand to call on the footballing authorities and social media companies to do more to slam the idiotic racists who whisper in ears behind closed palms or spout their bile from behind anonymous accounts online.
The Scotland players have decided to follow suit in their forthcoming World Cup qualifying matches, starting against Austria at Hampden on Thursday evening. Again, Reid backs the call, and put on record the national side’s own support for Kamara and teammate Kemar Roofe, who was on the receiving end of racial slurs on social media following his challenge on Slavia goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar.
“I’m absolutely behind the decision,” he said. “It’s getting to that stage now where I think for me and everybody it’s about action.
“We’ve taken the knee, we’ve had individuals not taking the knee, teams not taking the knee. I think what people want to see now is action.
“I think the SFA are supporting this and it’s something that the staff as a whole are going to be fully behind the players a lot of the time in what they decide.
“I think there’s support for Glen. I think there have also been issues for Kemar Roofe as well. I played alongside Kemar at West Brom.
“Visibly, it’s great to see the support that the players have received. I was really impressed with how the club dealt with it straightaway.
“Now, it’s about getting rid of these token punishments, a token fine here and there. It’s about action, it’s about severe action and that’s what people want to see.
“We can take the knee, we can stand, we can have individual protests. But people want to see action now, I mean proper punishments. People being held accountable for what they are saying and how they are behaving.
“People are sick to death of the abuse, it’s freely on social media sites now and with the ease in which it seems to be a weekly occurrence, the abuse of players. Something really meaningful needs to be done now.”
Meanwhile, Reid has expressed his delight at being able to welcome Che Adams into the international fold for the games against Austria, Israel and the Faroe Islands, with the Southampton striker finally declaring for Scotland after a prolonged courtship.
Like Adams, Reid also took advantage of the “grandparent rule” to earn 23 caps for the Republic of Ireland despite being born in England, and he has no concerns over the Tartan Army questioning his commitment to the cause, despite initially rejecting an approach from Alex McLeish back in 2017.
“To me, it’s a case of him being here now and committing to us,” he said.
It’s getting to that stage now where I think for me and everybody it’s about action
“It has been going on a little while but the decision is made and it’s all about getting down to business, getting involved as quickly as possible, integrating into the squad and team and delivering performances.
“If he gets on the scoresheet and we get a couple of results, it can soon turn opinions round, that’s for sure. But we are just delighted to have him and I’m sure the players are too.
“The squad itself is a really welcoming group; a really supportive group. He met the group last night and it does help that he’s got Stuart Armstrong from the club.
“The performances he’s delivered this season fully merits his call-up and he’s joining a really tight-knit, strong group and I don’t think there will be any issues whatsoever.”