Racism In Football Essay

QUOTE

“Black or white, we all have football under our skin” – Eusebio.

INTRODUCTION

Whilst an outdated, archaic and even Neanderthal concept to many, racism still continues to dominate the front and back pages of newspapers across Britain. And none more so then in the arena of sport, where high profile athletes and fans have come under increased scrutiny about their conduct both on and off the field.

The Barclays Premier League is the most watched football league in the world, with players from over 100 nationalities represented and less than a third of the players themselves English. So what gives?

Based on statistics taken from Sporting Intelligence on the opening weekend of the 2012/2013 Season, the Premier League boasted 183 black players and 8 Asian (Harris, 2012). This makes it all the more incomprehensible that British football be seen as marginalising black players and managers. With players such as Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure and England striker Daniel Sturridge both setting our screens alight this campaign, it seems that racism within the game is a conversation not worth having. But unfortunately, it is.

Many media response and official studies reveal some of the complexities of football related racism in Great Britain. Despite it’s public profile, the sources of racism in football have long been neglected. There is no grounded analysis of racism at English football grounds, despite several high profile organisations such as Kick it Out and Show Racism the Red Card conducting their own individual studies and assessments.

Notable cases in recent years include the much discussed John Terry at Loftus Road, an incident which later cost him the England captaincy, whilst Luis Suarez was banned for 8 games afte...

... middle of paper ...

... this, the advancements the NFL have made since implementing the rule are undisputable.

It is clear that racism, no matter how small a scale or how irregular the circumstance is an ugly undertone of the beautiful game. British football has made it clear that racism is antecedence in their priorities. But are the steps they are making large enough? The future of world football in tackling racism is approaching obvious hurdles. The 2018 and 2022 World Cup’s will be hosted in Russia and Qatar, two nations whom have had very public racial complications in the last several years, in what seems a desperate if not naïve attempt by FIFA to unite the footballing world. Decisive action, zero tolerance and a no-nonsense approach to racism within the game now by British football will hold them in good stead going into the biggest test of the footballs fight against racism.