I’d just like to start this piece by saying that I am very proud that the club I support is one of only two clubs to have reached “Kick it Out’s ” highest level of achievement. The observations made are not indicative of Villa itself but of football as a whole.
Somewhat of an eventful week in the world of football as the debate about racism rumbles on.
As many of you will know both the Ferdinand brothers and Jason Roberts snubbed the “Kick it Out” campaign by way of refusing to wear their t-shirts. When asked why, they explained that the campaign had fallen short in their expectations and that they needed to “do more”.
One argument for this could be the recent treatment of John Terry, who was recently found guilty of racism on the field: a four-game ban and reported £220K fine, falling short of many peoples’ expectations, including my own, given the nature of the conviction.
The problem with this snub for me, though, is that they didn’t actually come out and say what their expectations were regarding Kick it Out’s role within the game. Do they want extra education? More presence at games or the training ground? Or a public condemnation from the group regarding recent events (most notable being the recent Terry saga and the incident in Serbia)?
The fact is I don’t know the answer because they didn’t say.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Personally I think the Kick it Out organisation do a tremendous job given their resources. They are a small charity with only seven employees and a yearly budget of less than half-a-million pounds. Their role is all about education, which they do by visiting schools, academies, and grass roots teams in a bid to educate children so that it becomes part of the very core of the future footballer. It is not a body to issue statements on the behalf of minority groups—be it football or otherwise.
Given than the Ferdinand and Roberts feel so strongly about this, I can’t help but feel that the best thing they could have done is worn a t-shirt and offered to do some charitable work on behalf of the charity, thus raising the profile of the group and giving it more credibility amongst the young footballers the group are indeed trying to reach.
However, given the age we live in, should organisations and charities such as this even exist? Should it not fall under the jurisdiction of The FA? Surely a centralised campaign with the might and budget of The FA should form part of their social programme?
This being all said, this only deals with the players on the pitch. What about the fans? Last week we saw some horrendous scenes in Serbia as the England U21s booked their place in the European Championships.
Incessant monkey chanting and throwing of missiles targeted at the black members of the team stirred up a cauldron of hate, which spilled over after England scored a last-minute winning goal. Fans ran onto the pitch to attacked England’s players, and very sadly some of the opposition’s team seemed to get in on the act.
The FA correctly complained to UEFA, and has taken a very hard view on it. They have even stated that they “may have to review playing in certain countries”. As it stands, we are still waiting to hear what, if anything, is passed down from UEFA.
History shows that we may well be disappointed; in 2007 a similar complaint was made about Serbian fans. Their punishment? A £16,000 fine. Only recently, Lazio fans were found guilty of racist chanting in a UEFA cup game against Spurs. Their punishment? £40,000! Yes, the penalty has increased, but neither fine will touch the sides in the grand scheme of things.
UEFA need to make an example in my opinion. A ban is a minimum requirement, I feel, given the nature of the incident. A clear message needs to be sent saying this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated.
The Fans’ Role
The next point I wish to raise is that we as fans have a responsibility to help stamp out such behaviour.
Thinking back to Liverpool’s FA Cup tie against Man Utd at Anfield is a case in point.
This was the first meeting of the two clubs since Suarez’s guilty verdict in front of The FA after his incident with Evra. The image of a middle-aged man caught on camera making monkey gestures sparked a witch hunt, and quite rightly so. It took the police approximately 72 hours before they identified and arrested the individual. But why didn’t any other members of the crowd make a complaint and point him out to the police?
Only last Friday we saw a Leeds Utd fan run on to the pitch and push Chris Kirkland to the floor before disappearing back into the fray. Again, I ask why didn’t other fans didn’t point the police officers in his direction.
I’m not saying we should all become snitches and report every little thing we see, but surely for something so serious we can all agree to act like human beings.
After all, isn’t that how society is changed?
The Author
