FOR UKRAINE
Cultural mix should make us all feel proud
WHEN Stuart Pearce selects his England team to f ace Holland tomorrow, it will reflect modern society.
There will be a number of black players starting the game for their country, maybe six or seven, but so what? To me it no longer carries any significance.
I will not turn on the television and start counting the number of black faces in the team — we have moved beyond that to investigate deeper issues.
Ashley Cole, Micah Richards, Chris Smalling, Glen Johnson, Ashley Young, Theo Walcott, Daniel Sturridge, Fraizer Campbell and Danny Welbeck represent the black community, but to most people they are Saturday’s Heroes.
Right-minded supporters watch them play in the Barclays Premier League week in, week out and do not discriminate when t hey represent their club team.
Those barriers were broken down a long time ago and it is common mon for Premier League teams to field more black players than n white, but does anyone notice? ? Probably not.
To see Walcott or Richards walk out in an England shirt is not a cause to rejoice or celebrate because they are black — the fact it mirrors the e modern game and our culture is far more eye-catching.
That gives me more satisfaction tion than jumping up and down because ause a significant number of black players are representing the squad. d
Britain is culturally diverse, full of different nationalities and backgrounds being brought up in different circumstances. That is the real benefit of this England team, watching a cross-section of different communities and backgrounds uniting for one reason: they want to win a football match.
That is something England can be proud of, watching a cosmopolitan team take on a side who reached the 2010 World Cup final.
Walk down any street in any town across the country and there will be people from different backgrounds and different cultures.
When Viv Anderson became the first black player to represent England in 1978, of course it was a big thing, but that was a time when most of the people in the country were white.
Attitudes were different. Black players were a relatively new phenomenon in English football and it took time to make a breakthrough.
Since then, Paul Ince (right) has captained England and, at various times, there have been more black players on the field than white.
Most people will not even notice, all they want is to see a winning England team on the field.
Ultimately, when a top Premier League club, or even the England side, has a permanent black football manager, then it will take on more significance.
It i s well known that black managers are not given as much time as white managers, but that is a question for the boardroom and a phenomenon I describe as ‘unconscious racism’.
I do not believe in positive discrimination and the idea of giving black people interviews for jobs because they are black — that is discrimination in itself.
The idea that a black man is less intelligent than someone who is white is perpetuated by society, but there has been a gradual change over the last 10 to 15 years.
When I played for England I was one of the only black players in the squad, but I was in the team based on ability. I was easily distinguished by the colour of my skin, but that was the only difference between me and the other players. Football is often seen as the solution to issues that affect society, but that is too simplistic and is often asking too much of the game’s authorities. The real issues are with t he Government and the l egislation that is passed to condemn racist behaviour. People have been stealing for hundreds of years and just because it is illegal, it does not stop people stealing.
I spent time with the Prime Minister last week discussing the issue in our sport and I am all in favour of better educational programmes to tackle the issue.
Just because it is a crime to be found guilty of making racist remarks at a football stadium, does it mean it is OK to be a silent racist instead? Of course not.
I believe there is an increased understanding and social acceptance among young people, something I will continue to encourage.
I have young children and they lead varied l i ves, building a social network of people from all walks of life. They are growing up in an era and at an age when they understand that is it not acceptable — or correct — to discriminate against people based on the colour of their skin.