JAMES LAMENTS ‘FIRING SQUAD OF RACIST ABUSE’
Former Liverpool and England player says Asian fans of English Premier League clubs are passionate and their support should not be questioned
Former Liverpool goalkeeper David James has slammed hostile and racist abuse of Asian fans of English Premier League clubs, saying they are capable of showing “the same kind of passion” as those based locally.
Several fans from the region last month told BBC Asian Network they were repeatedly targeted because of their heritage, with one saying she was up against an online “firing squad of racist abuse” in the shape of social media trolls.
Other supporters overseas are subjected to spiteful comments about a supposedly flimsy connection with their clubs. Ange Postecoglou, the Australian manager of Tottenham Hotspur, publicly fought those fans’ corners, calling the derogatory comments about foreign fans “harsh and disrespectful”.
“If you are stupid enough to be racist, then that is your problem,” James said. “From a purely football perspective, if you are having a go at fans in Asia, and questioning their support for a team in England, that criticism is completely misplaced.
“Thirty years ago, most fans went to the stadiums, but now it is a global game. It is consumed remotely by most people, and Asia has a tremendous number of fans who support teams with the same kind of passion as supporters in England. When you have their commitment and support for a team, it does not matter where in the world they are.”
England international James spent seven years with Liverpool, who boast an enormous South Asian support, and was a player and manager at Kerala Blasters in India.
James was alerted to the devotion England’s biggest clubs inspire across Asia when playing for Portsmouth against Liverpool in a 2007 preseason match at Hong Kong Stadium.
“It was packed with Liverpool fans, and that was when I thought, ‘OK, I get it’,” he said. “I didn’t think about it a huge amount over the next few years because I was so focused on playing.
“When I went to India, though, I gained a new understanding of the values of supporting a football club. Liverpool’s Kerala Supporters Club had their inauguration in the hotel where I stayed, and their passion for the club was remarkable.”
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In April 2022, Kick It Out, the organisation dedicated to eradicating discrimination from football, joined forces with the English players’ union, the Professional Footballers’ Association, to establish the South Asian Action Plan.
The initiative is designed to tackle the underrepresentation of British South Asian players in the English academy system, with a long-term wish of normalising the presence of South Asian players in English football. There are 22 players of South Asian heritage in England’s top four divisions this season, up from 17 in 2022-23.
James, meanwhile, was in the city for his first experience of the Hong Kong Sevens, as an ambassador for Carlsberg. The 53-yearold, whose partner hails from the city, called the event “wonderful craziness”, and was “buzzing” over the exhilarating string of rugby matches for the hosts’ men and women’s rugby teams.
A veteran of more than 500 Premier League appearances, James trained with American football team Miami Dolphins in 2003. He is an intrigued observer, then, of the Welsh rugby union international Louis ReesZammit’s move to Kansas City Chiefs, winners of the past two Super Bowls.
Equally, James watched Michael Hooper, the former Australia test captain, make his sevens debut in Hong Kong.
“I have spoken to [ex-England test player] James Haskell and other former union players about this, and they say they would have struggled in sevens,” James said. “Transferring your skill set to another sport is so difficult, the requirements are fundamentally different.”
When you have their support for a team, it does not matter where in the world they are
DAVID JAMES, ON ASIAN EPL FANS