TIME FOR ACTION
++ Scotland stars united over racism stance Clarke says knee protest is now diluted ++ Reid backs player walk-offs
SCOTLAND’S players will stand in solidarity with the fight against racism before the World Cup qualifier with Austria at Hampden on Thursday.
Boss Steve Clarke says his team have decided to stop taking a knee because the symbol has become ‘diluted’ in the wake of incidents such as last week’s flare-up at Ibrox when Rangers star Glen Kamara claimed he was racially abused by Slavia Prague opponent Ondrej Kudela.
And Clarke’s assistant Steven Reid says he would back any Scotland player who decided to leave the pitch if they were subjected to racist behaviour.
‘I think the knee, when it was first proposed and first taken, was a really powerful symbol,’ Clarke told Sky Sports. ‘It’s maybe now become a little diluted. There’s been some high-profile cases recently, which shows the racism and the abuse is still there. It’s not acceptable to anybody.
‘And maybe just taking a stand as opposed to the knee will just waken everybody up to the fact that if we go to sleep, it will never go away.
‘We have to keep confronting it, pushing forward and
making sure that, in years to come, racism of any form is not acceptable.’
Kamara accused Kudela of racially abusing him towards the end of last week’s Europa League tie, with boss Steven Gerrard saying that he would give his unequivocal backing to players if they decided to walk off the park in protest at such incidents in future.
Scotland coach Reid says he would fully understand if Clarke’s players did likewise.
‘I’m absolutely behind the decision (to stand up to racism on Thursday),’ said the former Republic of Ireland international.
‘Would I support players if they chose to walk off if someone was abused? Absolutely, I would. I think we’re getting to that stage now. Time has moved on from opinions of: “You should never walk off the pitch”.
‘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.’
In addition to gestures such as standing up or taking a knee in the battle against racism, Reid (right) called for stronger, more effective punishments for perpetrators of racial abuse.
He said: ‘We’ve taken the knee, we have had individuals and teams not taking the knee.
‘I think what people want to see now is action — proper, meaningful action.
‘It’s about getting rid of these token punishments, a token fine here and there.
‘It’s about severe action. People being held accountable for what they are saying and how they are behaving. People are sick to death of the abuse.
‘It’s also about more diversity in leadership roles, in organisations, in administration roles, with decision-makers, rather than a protest here and there.’
Reid admired the way Rangers handled last Thursday’s incident, and was heartened to see Celtic captain Scott Brown make a public show of support for Kamara before Sunday’s Old Firm derby.
But it emerged that Ibrox striker Kemar Roofe was racially abused on Instagram after the Europa League last-16 tie, while police have made an arrest over a social media post regarding Alfredo Morelos during the 1-1 draw with Celtic on Sunday.
Reid believes social media has made the issue far worse than in his own playing heyday with Blackburn and West Brom.
‘I played alongside Kemar Roofe at West Brom,’ he said. ‘Things have escalated in the period since I finished playing.
‘It wasn’t such a massive issue that I think it’s become now. It seems to have escalated massively now into a daily occurrence.
‘It’s freely on social media sites and I think we’re all sick to death of the abuse and online abuse people are receiving almost on a daily basis.
‘It’s almost at a stage now where it can feel like there’s a blame put on the victims, like: “Why are you on social media?” That’s not the case at all. There needs to be more emphasis put on the abusers.
‘What can we do to try and actively stop these accounts from being made and hold people accountable? People want action.’
Reid was speaking after the SFA broke their silence yesterday on the Kamara racism storm.
The governing body announced that Livingston captain Marvin Bartley and former Scotland midfielder Leanne Ross have joined the SFA’s Equality Diversity Advisory Board (EDAB), which is to call for an online summit to champion ‘meaningful change’.
SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: ‘The incident involving Glen Kamara at Ibrox last week demonstrates that society and football still has a lot of work to do to eradicate racism. ‘Scottish football’s response shows the commitment to change and EDAB exists to be an agency for change, bringing consensus from across the game on all matters of equality and diversity. ‘After witnessing the scenes last Thursday, we contacted Rangers immediately through our equality team to offer our support and guidance through a range of services and we aim to continue that dialogue with any club directly affected by these issues.
‘Scottish football has helped raise awareness of the issue of racism by taking the knee throughout the season but there is an acknowledgment that more needs to be done than a gesture of support, especially in the increasing scourge of racist abuse to players via social media.
‘Through our EDAB discussions, we will explore ways of implementing meaningful change with players at the centre of those discussions.’
Kamara’s lawyer, Aamer Anwar, last week accused Hampden chiefs of a ‘shameful and cowardly silence’ for failing to speak out.
However, after meeting with the governing body, Anwar welcomed their statement, adding that ‘the SFA want real action and support to stamp out racism’.
Bartley, meanwhile, is keen to begin his new role.
He said: ‘I am eager to provide thoughts from a player’s perspective on issues that are extremely close my heart.
‘Recently, we’ve witnessed every club in the country pull together and unite against racism and now it’s time for us to continue to make sure no individual is ever left to feel alone or ostracised.’