MARK STEIN

“SAD” and “frustrating” – how Mark Stein (below) sums up the past week.

“If you ask 90 per cent of footballers – those who are playing now and those who played in my era – I think they would tell you the same thing.

“They would say racism has never gone away, not just in football, but in society.

“We all like to congratulate ourselves on what we’ve done to tackle racism, particularly in football, but all that’s really happened is that it has been pushed underground.

“We’ve had two or three incidents in the past month that leave a bitter taste in the mouth. People like to tell us that we’ve moved on. But have things really changed?

“I think the answer has to be ‘no’. The clubs can only do so much – you can ban the fans but then someone else will come along and take their place.

“It’s sad. It’s frustrating. And it’s unbelievable we’re still having these conversations. “My mum and my dad were political activists with the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa in the 1960s.

“They never gave up the fight, but it’s clear that fight [against racism] still hasn’t been won.”