Remove the England captaincy from John Terry

Racism in football is back in the news this week with the eight match ban handed down to Liverpool’s Luis Suarez for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrick Evra and, today, the news that John Terry is facing criminal prosecution for allegedly racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand.

The Football Association is just as much in the dock as its reputation and credibility is scrutinised at home and abroad. The stakes were raised last month when the FA spoke out at the apparent indifference towards racism in football by FIFA boss Sepp Blatter, after he claimed that racial abuse on the field could be dealt with by a handshake after the game.

The FA appear to have handled the Suarez case in accordance with the rules and appear only to have come to their judgement after much deliberation. It is sad that Suarez’s Liverpool team-mates and manager rallied round him without even slightest concern of his guilt. Wearing T-shirts in support of him undermines efforts to stamp out racism within the game. Let us just hope that at some stage in the future these same Liverpool players, who appear so quick to jump to Suarez’s defence, are not left annoyed with players of a rival team who rally round someone who has abused one of their own.

The John Terry incident raises even more serious questions. Obviously he is innocent until proven guilty, but it seems totally inappropriate for him to remain England captain whilst criminal charges hang over him. He was stripped of the captaincy after a Sunday newspaper exposed an extra-marital affair so it would only seem correct that he is once again forced to stand down as captain while charges of using racist language exist.

English football has done much to rid itself of racism over the last fifteen years and we can rightly boast to have the most pro-active national football association on this issue anywhere in Europe. The FA should act decisively over John Terry’s captaincy rather than be forced to act later under pressure. How can we seem to lecture other countries and FIFA if they fail to deal with this issue swiftly? If John Terry is found not guilty then he can regain the captaincy at some future date. If he has the interests of the game, and indeed the national team, at heart then he will also want to step aside as soon as possible.

Hope not hate

An emphatic stand against racism in English football

The men charged with one of the trickiest decisions in FA history were unequivocal

Negro or negrito, it doesn't really matter now. Sometimes it's not what you say so much as how you say it, and how many times you do so and the effect it is plainly having in the hair-trigger atmosphere of a match between such ferocious rivals as Liverpool and Manchester United. That certainly was the conclusion of the independent regulatory panel of three which last night accepted the allegations of Patrice Evra and banned Luis Suarez for eight matches.

As it did so it swept aside the sophistry of the brilliant Uruguayan's defence that he had done nothing worse than slip into a cultural divide, that what he said to an enraged opponent two months ago wouldn't have raised the eyebrow of a black compatriot back home in Montevideo.

It is the kind of argument which can hold up a court for some time – as it did in this minefield of a case which represented such a huge challenge to the nerve and the working morality of the rulers of the game in this country – but had it been accepted the chances of success in similar prosecutions in the future would have slumped to around zero.

There would have been a precedent for the niceties of one man's understanding of what might constitute a serious offence against the pride and the dignity of another. Instead, the judgement was that if Suarez had offended in a way that may have been subtler than when he bit an opponent in the Dutch league – and earned the nickname of the Cannibal of Ajax – he had still crossed an unacceptable line.

The implications are heavy for anyone who, had the outcome been different last night, might have been tempted to join in any regression to the days when racism was such a harsh reality in the English football.

Certainly, although John Terry denies the allegations, it might create a new level of tension for the Chelsea and England captain, who awaits the deliberations of the Crown Prosecution Service as it weighs the evidence in the charge of Anton Ferdinand that he too was a victim of racial abuse.

The adjudicating panel was led by QC Paul Goulding but it is hard not to believe that he received powerful underpinning from his colleague Denis Smith.

A magnificent centre-half for Stoke, and a manager who knew both success and failure, Smith went into the hearing under the bizarre suggestion that an old professional connection with Sir Alex Ferguson's son, Darren, might make him a less than impartial arbiter. For anyone who knew him, the theory might have been etched crudely in crayon rather than tweeted. Indeed, Smith's long, injury-strewn but superbly indefatigable involvement in the hard end of professional footballer made him eminently qualified to note the difference between nuances of language, and intention, and the realities of serious provocation and insult.

Even so the long days of deliberation suggest a near forensic examination of the claims and counter-claims. Surely, it had to be so.

That Evra had once had a similar charge to the one he made against Saurez rejected, and had evidence at another hearing categorised as "unreliable" no doubt emboldened Liverpool's defence of their outstanding player. It is also true that last night's verdict could easily have been shrouded in inconclusive platitudes and irresolute action.

Instead, the men charged with arguably one of the trickiest decisions in the history of FA discipline were unequivocal. Liverpool, predictably, are indignant and last night issued a powerful statement of rebuttal. From the tone of it, it would be surprising if they do not take advantage of the two-week suspension of Suarez's sentence which allows for an appeal.

Liverpool said the decision was extraordinary in that the issue had come down to the word of Evra against Saurez's and that their player had no record of racism, pointing out his mixed-race heritage. They also cited Evra's comment that he did not regard Saurez as a racist.

So what was the accusation against Saurez? It was one with which the panel concurred. He was guilty of misconduct and insulting behaviour and the use of racist language. You could translate that into some mild attempt at incitement to a loss of control in a player with whom you were engaged in a desperate battle for advantage. You could also say that in another context Saurez would have been guilty of nothing more than "cultural" clumsiness.

The decision was, however, much more emphatic. It said that Saurez had succeeded in inflaming his opponent in a calculated and unacceptable way. This could create an interminable argument about cause and effect but the gut instinct here is that a difficult but vital stand has been made. And, you may ask, against what precisely? Hopefully, it is the idea that racism, however it manifests itself, is in English football not consigned to the past.

Independent

Liverpool furious as Luis Suárez banned in Patrice Evra racism row

• Striker set to miss eight games and is fined £40,000
• Liverpool consider appeal against striker's conviction

Luis Suárez has been banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 for racially abusing Patrice Evra, prompting an extraordinary response from Liverpool accusing the Manchester United player of being "not credible" and alleging that the Football Association had deliberately set out to punish their player even before hearing the evidence.

In a statement that also calls for the FA to press charges against Evra, Liverpool described themselves as "surprised and disappointed" with the "extraordinary" decision to find Suárez guilty of aiming racist abuse at the Senegal-born Frenchman during the 1-1 draw at Anfield on 15 October.

Their manager, Kenny Dalglish, tweeted: "Very disappointed with today's verdict. This is the time when @luis16suarez needs our full support. Let's not let him walk alone. KD"

The club are considering an appeal, with the punishment suspended and Suárez free to play until the process is completed, and the wording of their statement makes it clear they will not contemplate taking their own disciplinary action against a player who is understood to have admitted calling his opponent a "negro".

"We find it extraordinary that Luis can be found guilty on the word of Patrice Evra alone when no one else on the field – including Evra's own team-mates and all the match officials – heard the alleged conversation between two players in a crowded Kop goalmouth while a corner-kick was about to be taken," the statement said.

"It is our strong belief, having gone over the facts of the case, that Luis Suárez did not commit any racist act. It is also our opinion that the accusation by this particular player was not credible – certainly no more credible than his prior unfounded accusations."

That was a reference to Evra's disciplinary case in 2008 when he was banned for four matches and fined £15,000 after an altercation with a Chelsea groundsman. The FA hearing at the time ruled his evidence was "exaggerated and unreliable" and Liverpool made a great point of focusing on this during the Suárez case.

However, the FA's three-man independent commission, led by Paul Goulding QC, did not accept Suárez's argument that the words he used were perfectly acceptable for someone from Uruguay, a defence of culture and semantics that has led to it being described as one of the more complex cases ever to fall under the remit of the FA's disciplinary unit. Suárez said on Twitter: "Today is a very difficult and painful day for both me and my family. Thanks for all the support, I'll keep working!"

There was no apology and it soon became apparent why as Liverpool turned the focus back on to the man who made the allegation. "It is key to note that Patrice Evra himself in his written statement in this case said: 'I don't think that Luis Suárez is racist'. The FA in their opening remarks accepted that Luis Suárez was not racist," their statement said.

"Luis himself is of a mixed-race family background as his grandfather was black. He has been personally involved since the 2010 World Cup in a charitable project which uses sport to encourage solidarity amongst people of different backgrounds with the central theme that the colour of a person's skin does not matter; they can all play together as a team.

"We do not recognise the way in which Luis Suárez has been characterised. It appears to us that the FA were determined to bring charges against Luis Suárez, even before interviewing him at the beginning of November.

"Nothing we have heard in the course of the hearing has changed our view that Luis Suárez is innocent of the charges brought against him and we will provide Luis with whatever support he now needs to clear his name. We would also like to know when the FA intend to charge Patrice Evra with making abusive remarks to an opponent after he admitted himself in his evidence to insulting Luis Suárez in Spanish in the most objectionable of terms. Luis, to his credit, actually told the FA he had not heard the insult."

Evra had reportedly pushed away Suárez's hand when the Uruguayan attempted to pat him on the head and used words to the Liverpool player along the lines of: "Don't touch me, you South American." Liverpool have asked the FA to issue the same charges that have now led to Suárez's reputation being tarnished.

The FA's hearing, that began last Wednesday, had ruled that Suárez used "insulting words" that "included a reference to Mr Evra's colour". The full written reasons will be provided to Liverpool in the next few days and they will have 14 days to appeal. However, if they were to lose an appeal Suárez could potentially face an even longer ban. In the meantime Suárez is set to play in the league fixture at Wigan Athletic on Wednesday.

Guardian

Racist abuse on Micah Richards' Twitter page probed

Micah Richards plays right back for table-topping Manchester City

Police are investigating racist abuse directed at Manchester City player Micah Richards on Twitter.

Offensive comments were posted on the defender's official Twitter page. The abuse is thought to have been posted on Twitter by someone living in Lincolnshire. A police spokesman said it would "not tolerate racist comments".

The 23-year-old replied: "Love the racist abuse. Keep it coming." His account was unavailable on Tuesday.

On its Twitter page, Lincolnshire Police posted a warning to anyone who might be tempted to post abusive comments. It said "deleting comments does not work".

A spokesman for Manchester City said the club was aware that police were investigating the matter and did not want to comment further.

BBC

Thanks to B31 Antifascist for the heads-up

From toe-hold to no hold: football and the English Defence League

Click on image for full-size

Jim Keoghan looks at the campaign to kick the English Defence League out of football

Since the English Defence League (EDL) first appeared in 2009, it has sought to make its presence felt among the country’s football fans. And although football might be a more tolerant sport than it once was, there remains a small element within the game that has responded to their overtures.

The majority of these supporters can be found among the ranks of the hooligan ‘firms’ that are still associated with some football clubs. These first emerged from the ‘casual’ sub-culture of the 1970s and 1980s as a way for fans who enjoyed post-match violence to organise themselves along team lines. Although these firms are much diminished today, some have survived, with several even enjoying continuity in membership.

According to Paul Jenkins, north west regional organiser for Unite Against Fascism (UAF), these fans represented a readymade army that the EDL could unite and organise: ‘Not all of the men in these firms – and it is just men – share the views of the EDL. But there’s enough that do for the EDL to have representation at several clubs. These are the people who are trying to bring racist and Islamophobic chants and language onto the terraces and who come out to protest and instigate violence on the streets with the EDL. At the moment you’re not talking about massive numbers, but the problem is that these people can be used to recruit other football supporters, something they are increasingly trying to do.’

What’s happening today has parallels with the 1970s and 1980s. Then it was the National Front (NF) organising among football supporters and managing to gain representation at several clubs, such as West Ham, Chelsea, Leeds and Millwall. Much of this representation was also drawn from the ranks of hooligan firms. Both the ‘Chelsea headhunters’ and the ‘Leeds United service crew’ possessed links with the NF.

Along with wider societal changes in attitudes towards race and religion, from the late 1980s onwards several factors combined to diminish the problems faced by the sport. The increasing prominence of ethnic minority players, the rise in the number of women, children and ethnic minority supporters attending games and a more aggressive approach by the police and the clubs in targeting hooligans (such as banning certain fans from a ground) all played a part in changing the face of the game. These have been complemented by a succession of anti-racist campaigns, such as Show Racism the Red Card and Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football, as well as anti-racism community work undertaken by the clubs themselves.

The EDL has also so far failed to make any significant impact among fans at England matches, despite this being an area where the far right has had a presence in the past. ‘I can honestly say that I have never seen any evidence of the EDL at England games over the last few years,’ says Mark Perryman of the England Supporters Club. ‘A lot of football hooligans are already banned from these games and few real fans would risk getting a banning order because of any suspected involvement with the EDL.’

The England team has also gone to great lengths to take a stand against racism – not least because they have been the targets of racist chanting and abuse at away games such as the recent Euro 2012 qualifier in Bulgaria. Both the manager Fabio Capello and captain John Terry made strong public statements on the subject before September’s game against Wales, where the team wore ‘Kick It Out’ armbands to stress their commitment to anti-racism.

But although the overall picture has improved, there remains inconsistency across the sport. In the lower divisions and in non-league football, a lack of adequate stewarding and enforcement of banning orders has meant that racism and religious intolerance remain more of a problem.

‘This is why the EDL has targeted clubs outside the top divisions,’ says national UAF organiser Paul Sillett. ‘In the lower leagues the EDL feels more confident in speaking out and organising.’

Worrying presence

While the EDL as yet is confined to the margins, the fact that it has been able to establish a presence at all is worrying. ‘They’ve got a toe-hold and a message that a lot of people give time to,’ says Paul Sillett. He believes that unlike the simplistic racist views of the NF in the past, elements of the EDL’s message today find an audience across a much wider swath of society.

‘The EDL portrays itself as a protest movement against militant Islam and excessive immigration, two perspectives that find sympathy among sections of our society,’ Sillet says. ‘There are plenty of football supporters, specifically young lads who like the appeal of being part of a gang and have an affinity with the patriotism that the EDL wrap themselves up in, who are going to be open to the superficially persuasive message that the EDL provide, specifically when they see aspects of it mirrored in the tabloids and echoed by certain leading politicians. These are people who might not consider themselves racist and would never use conventionally racist language but who nevertheless find the anti-Islam rhetoric of the EDL acceptable. This means that although the EDL might be confined to the hooligan fringes at the moment, it will not necessarily stay that way.’

According to Gav Sutherland from Show Racism the Red Card (SRRC), the rise of the EDL has to be taken seriously. ‘The increase in popularity of the EDL is having a big impact, particularly their targeting of young people. As an educational campaign that uses professional footballers to talk to young people about racist and religious intolerance, we will continue to do our best to tackle the myths and lies about Islam and Muslims that the EDL is trying to spread.’

These educational campaigns would be immeasurably aided if there were more British-Asian football role models. But there are only a handful of British-Asian professionals playing in England and they make up less than one in 100 young players in football academies.

At a club level, although many mirror the work undertaken by SRRC in their own communities, as yet there has been no specific action against the EDL, even among clubs where the EDL has been active. Instead, the strongest reaction is coming from the supporters themselves, who in the absence of any meaningful response from the teams they follow have decided to take matters into their own hands.

‘One of the most pleasing aspects of this is the way some existing casual firms have taken on the EDL,’ says Paul Sillett. He says that although the link between the far right and the hooligans is an established one, it’s not the whole story.

‘Back in the 1970s not all hooligans were racist. There were examples of mixed-race hooligan firms and examples of casuals that organised themselves against the NF, something that is also happening today. At West Ham their firm is active against the presence of the EDL.’

Fans fight back

Ordinary supporters are getting involved too. Across the country, fans are part of a growing grass-roots action against the far right. Bolton supporter Lindsay Bessells is one of many fans who joined with UAF last season in a concerted campaign to counter the presence of the EDL. ‘I’d begun seeing an increasing number of men at the Reebok stadium wearing EDL t-shirts and began to realise that this hooligan element in our fan base was partly responsible for the rallies that were happening locally, and for much of the violence that was associated with them. I felt that I had to get involved and do something to stop their influence spreading.’

By mobilising and engaging supporters the campaign has sought to mirror what the EDL has tried to do. But whereas the EDL has been appealing to a minority element within football, the anti-EDL campaign has been preaching to the majority, according to Linda Jones, who leafleted outside Bradford City’s ground.

‘We’ve leafleted a few times and now and then you might get people refusing to take one or telling you that they are sympathetic to the EDL but in general most fans support what we are doing. As in wider society, football fans as a whole are much more tolerant than they used to be. They recognise the EDL for what it is, just another incarnation of the far right – something that has no place in the modern game.’

This supporter-led action harks back to the late 1970s, when, in the absence of any action by the football authorities or the clubs, fans began to fight back against the influence of the far right themselves. This was often done in an organised way, with Anti-Nazi League groups being established by football fans at 20 or more British football grounds. And this more formal organisation is already evident today with the creation of anti-fascist organisations at clubs such as Leicester, Aston Villa and Tranmere.

‘Following the formation of the EDL we began to see the development of something worryingly reminiscent of the 1970s. It struck us that the best way to counter this was to organise properly, providing a better chance of countering the EDL’s propaganda,’ says Bidston Moss of the Tranmere Rovers Anti Fascist group (TRAF).

TRAF has already undertaken a mass leafleting of the ground and organised a number of anti-fascist social events in Birkenhead. The group has ambitious ideas for the future, with a possible outdoor festival and large evening events planned.

‘Our overall aim is to appeal to our supporters to resist sly right-wing “come-ons” from these far-right bigots,’ continues Bidston. ‘The EDL sing from the same hymn sheet as other far-right groups. Its demos are dominated by Nazi-saluting thugs and chants of “dirty Muslim bastards” and “we hate Pakis more than you” are evident whenever they congregate. This is the reality that football supporters need to understand – and it’s a message that more and more of us fans are beginning to spread.’

Red Pepper

Racist abuse made life hell on the pitch for ex-Carlisle Utd ace Dean Walling

The rhythmic monkey chants reverberated around the ground. Every header won, every defensive clearance and every tackle was met with a torrent of sickening racist abuse spat at him by rival fans.

Dean Walling, left

Dean Walling was determined not to let the mindless yobs distract him during a game but often back at home, away from the braying mob, he would be left devastated. Then, the Carlisle United defender would feel rage at the vicious hate campaign he had been forced to endure for 90 minutes.

“Every single time it happened I was tearful. It always hurt,” said Walling. “Who likes being called a n****r? Who likes having monkey chants and nasty obscenities directed at them? I blocked it out when I was on the pitch but it always got to me afterwards. I would think about it when I got home and think why I should have to take that.

“I remember going to Blackpool, Burnley, Preston and Bolton and getting a really hard time from their fans. They were making ooh, ooh, ooh noises when I got the ball. The north west clubs were notorious. They did it to try to put me off my game. They were mindless yobs. I’m quite a sensitive person and deep down it used to hurt inside and it was even worse if my family were watching, but I had a strong enough personality to dismiss what they were doing and focus on my game.

“Even though I was being paid to play, I shouldn’t have had to put up with s*** like that for £10,000-a-year. There were rules for one person and rules for another. It’s OK for footballers to be racially abused and called every obscenity under the sun, but you can’t retaliate and shout back at the fans.

“The manager at the time Aidan McCaffery was a father-figure to me as he brought me to Carlisle and he believed in me. He would always put an arm around me after a game and said the abuse was a consequence of the society we were then living in.”

Like the iconic deckchair strip he wore with pride, Walling, probably the most popular Carlisle player in the last 20 years, perfectly encapsulated the spirit, mood and optimism of the club in the mid-nineties.

What fans who idolised him didn’t know was the anguish he felt when he faced racist abuse from rival supporters. His revelations will horrify Carlisle fans who took the defender to their hearts and it comes at a particularly sensitive time as racism has raised its ugly head once again at the highest level, leaving Walling feeling despair and disgust that it has still not been banished completely.

The FA is awaiting the outcome of a police inquiry before deciding whether to charge England captain John Terry who is alleged to have racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, Patrice Evra claims he suffered racist abuse from Luis Suárez during Manchester United’s recent 1-1 draw with Liverpool.

Chelsea have been forced to condemn more allegations of racism by their own fans following claims one of them called Daniel Sturridge a monkey during the 1-1 Champions League draw at Genk earlier this month. And there are strong calls for Fifa president Sepp Blatter to resign after he claimed football does not have problems with racism.

As a teenage ball boy at Leeds United, Walling was given a brutal introduction to the abuse black players face.

He said: “I’m a Leeds boy and a massive Leeds fan and I can remember being at the side of the pitch as a ball boy when the fans were booing and chanting obscenities at black players. Yet people were clapping me when I threw the ball back. As a kid it really affects you and you don’t want to go to a match. No matter what colour, creed or religion, hearing that kind of thing hurts. I continued as a ball boy because Leeds were my team and always will be.

“My late father told me to rise above it because I was in a privileged position of being able to play football for a living. He urged me not to let mindless people try to put me off my game.

“What I witnessed stood me in good stead in the future because it made me strong and determined. You are so focused on your performance when you’re on the pitch. It’s when your mind goes in other places that there is the risk it will affect your game.

“When I signed for Rochdale when I was 18, it was during the eighties when racism in football was at its worst. There weren’t that many black players compared to today’s game and no foreign black players. Viv Anderson, John Barnes and Luther Blissett were the most high-profile.”

Despite high-profile campaigns and a truly multicultural workplace, with a quarter of footballers from black or ethnic minority backgrounds, racism is still rife in football.

Walling, a 1997 Wembley hero whose spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out helped Carlisle lift the Auto Windscreens Shield for the first time in their history, believes football has come a long way but people are fooling themselves if racism has gone away.

The 42-year-old said: “There is racism in football and anyone who says there isn’t is kidding themselves. It is high on the agenda at the moment because of the John Terry situation and rightly so. The PFA Kick It Out campaign and the Show Racism The Red Card campaign have tried to highlight the issue and they have worked in changing perceptions. I fear we will never stamp racism out of football completely because there will always be some bigot who can’t keep their mouth shut. People need to realise the hurt it brings players.

“I don’t know why footballers should have to put up with that kind of behaviour when it wouldn’t be accepted in any other industry. I was doing my job just like a postman, a gas board official or a builder.”

The one place Walling always felt comfortable playing was Brunton Park. Even in tough times on the pitch, he never feared Blues fans would start hurling racist abuse at him.

He said: “To this day, I can’t understand why I’m so popular in Carlisle because all I did was try my best and yet the fans treat me like I’m a hero. I never, ever faced any racist abuse from Carlisle fans. The fans were fantastic to me and still have a very special place in my heart. Playing for Carlisle has always been the best part of my career as it is where I enjoyed my best football, but I was very nervous about moving up there.

“When I signed for Carlisle in 1991, the city wasn’t as cultural or as diverse as it is now as a result of having a university, but I needn’t have worried because the fans were brilliant to me. To me, it looked like there were probably only two or three black people around Carlisle – and two of them were me and my best mate Rod Thomas – but we never got any abuse.”

News and Star

Action must be taken whenever racism rears its ugly head – including in sport

Golf caddie Steve Williams’s alleged racist comments regarding Tiger Woods are the latest episode in what appears to be a phenomenon of racism in sport.

This follows recent incidents in October football matches with Queens Park Rangers’ Anthon Ferdinand claiming Chelsea and England Captain John Terry made a racist comment and a similar incident involving Manchester United‘s Patrice Evra arguing Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was frequently racist towards him.

Racism in sport is not new. Back in 2008 Lewis Hamilton was subjected to crude racism by opposing fans in Spain, who painted their faces black. In 2004 Ron Atkinson was forced to resign as an ITV football commentator, following alleged racist comments directed at Marcel Desailly.

Perhaps the worst incident involving sportsmen, was the violent attack on Asian student Sarfraz Najieb in 2000 involving Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer, both at the time played for Leeds United. Najieb was bitten on the face, and suffered a broken leg, nose and cheekbone.

Woodgate was found guilty of affray and both Woodgate and Bowyer were cleared of grevious bodily harm. While the trial judge said there was no racist motive to the attack on the student, Najieb claims he was called a “Paki” before the attack.

Racism in sport is nowhere near as bad as it was four decades ago, and we seemed to enjoy a period of peace in the late eighties and nineties. So why the reemergence of it during the last decade?

Racism in sport is a reflection of racism in wider society.

The 1970s saw Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of blood” speech and the growth of the National Front. So it is no surprise that, in this climate, black footballers were subjected to bananas being thrown at them and black supporters were some times subjected to violent attacks, even by fellow supporters of the same football clubs.

At the start of the noughties we experienced the worst political attacks on immigrants since powellism in the 1970s, with politicians and newspaper headlines frequently attacking asylum seekers in particular. This followed a rise of Islamophobia post 9/11 and 7/7.

This climate provided fertile ground for the British National Party’s unprecedented electoral gains for a fascist organisation in Britain. This electoral growth – the breakthrough to the European Parliament in 2009 specifically – emboldened the English Defence League (EDL) to organise racist demonstrations on Britain’s streets reminiscent of the 1970s National Front demonstrations.

The EDL recruits support from football hooligans through “casuals united”. Two years on the EDL is still growing and continues to organise demonstrations.

Now, amidst the worst international economic crisis since the 1930s great depression, false racist arguments are advancing with immigration being wrongly blamed.

Take David Cameron’s speech on immigration a few weeks before this year’s election. Or the absence of a sensible debate on the economy prior to the 2010 general election and instead a debate on how immigration was to blame and what policies to reduce it. This is not the first time in history where failure to deliver solutions to economic crises paved the way for immigrant communities to be scapegoated.

This is the context within which racism in sport is rearing its ugly head. It is a symptom of racism in society as a whole and is not unique to sport.

All racism, where ever it manifests itself, must be confronted by robust action. Black people are free from slavery, to walk on our streets without fear of relentless racist abuse and attack, to vote, and to compete in top level professional sport, because people actively campaigned against racism. It didn’t happen by itself.

Therefore I welcome the Football Association’s investigations into John Terry and Luis Suarez.

It is interesting though, that the furore surrounding Terry’s affair with Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel, prompted England Manager Fabio Capello to strip off the England captaincy from Terry but the allegation of racism has not prompted the same response to the now reinstated England captain.

The police are also investigating Terry after a supporter reported the incident to the police. Racist abuse after all, whether verbal or physical, is against the law.

The Formula 1 Association launched the “race against racism” campaign following racism against Lewis Hamilton. Ron Atkinson was forced to resign his role as ITV football commentator as a result of his comments.

But what action is being taken against Steve Williams? Thus far none. It is how institutions respond to racism that is crucial and will prevent further incidents of racism. The International Golf Federation should launch an investigation into Steve Williams. An apology is not enough.

by Sabby Dhalu, One Society Many Cultures secretary, Unite Against Fascism joint secretary

Left Foot Forward

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

Call for Rangers to probe fans' racist song

Rudi Skacel in his Southampton days

Rangers have been urged to carry out a full investigation after their fans sang a racist song at Hearts star Rudi Skacel.

Czech Republic international Skacel, 31, was the target of the taunt from Gers fans as he was substituted towards the end of Hearts' 1-0 victory at Tynecastle on Saturday. The chant suggests he is a "refugee" and is sung to the tune of The Beatles' song Yellow Submarine. The tune could be loudly heard as the attacking midfielder left the pitch during the televised encounter.

Ged Grebby, chief executive at Show Racism the Red Card, called for a full investigation to be carried out by both clubs and the SFA.

He said: "On Thursday we had a big meeting at Hibernian's Easter Road, to push the Show Racism the Red Card message, so to hear of songs like this being sung just two days after is very disappointing. Abuse against Eastern European players is becoming an increasing problem."

Edinburgh Evening News

BNP pamphlets 'not welcomed' at Oval

Glentoran Football Club says it is saddened that BNP members handed out pamphlets at the Oval before their home game with Glenavon on Saturday.

Supporters of the party were seen carrying placards and handing out pamphlets as part of a protest campaign against the war in Afghanistan. The east Belfast club said it did not welcome "these types of groups" outside the Oval.

"Glentoran Football Club has a strong tradition of being an inclusive football club that appeals to a broad range of supporters and players from across all communities in Northern Ireland", the club said in a statement.

"Our strong cross community ethos does not align itself with any political party and we are saddened that such an incident has happened. We do not welcome these types of groups outside of our football club as we continue to provide an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere at the Oval for local football supporters."

DUP East Belfast MLA Robin Newton said he received calls from members of the public complaining about the presence of BNP members outside the football ground last weekend. Mr Newton described their presence at the match as "uninvited and unwelcome".

"A number of constituents have contacted me to express their disgust at the presence of the BNP outside their local club," he said. "They go to the Oval to support the Glens and enjoy a game of football; they don't want to be faced with BNP messages of hate. I presume this BNP presence is some sort of campaign to raise their nauseous profile, and I appeal for everyone to stand as one to reject their message.

"The BNP should pack up their messages of hate and disappear. They have been rejected time and time again, they represent no-one, and we don't want them in our midst."

Alliance councillor Mervyn Jones says the group "has no place" at the sports ground.

"I am disgusted that the BNP would try to take advantage of a football match to try and canvass support for their sickening views," Mr Jones said. "I am glad that Glentoran fans have given this group the red card as this type of activity has no place anywhere near our sports grounds. As a Glentoran supporter, I strongly resent any attempt to link Glentoran Football Club to the BNP.

"Inside the ground I spoke to a number of people and everyone I spoke to was opposed the presence of the BNP, which might be considered the only positive thing to come from this disgusting episode."

In a statement, the BNP said it was seeking "an end to the illegal and immoral war in Afghanistan."

The party said it took to "the streets of Belfast in a peaceful and democratic manner to collect signatures for a petition to be handed in to the government calling for the immediate withdrawal of all British troops from that conflict."

"For the DUP, and Robin Newton in particular, to attack the BNP for this pro-peace message is an example of the most extreme hypocrisy yet seen in Northern Ireland", the statement added.

UTV News

Chelsea to ban antisemitic football chants

Chelsea FC have pledged to find and ban supporters filmed singing antisemitic songs about rivals Tottenham at a match last month.

Clips of fans chanting in a concourse at Stoke City’s Britannia Stadium were posted on YouTube, leading Spurs to complain to the west London club. They can be heard singing "Spurs are on their way to Auschwitz" while beer bottles are thrown around.

Chelsea, owned by Roman Abramovich, said they had passed the clips to police who are now investigating. In a statement, the club said: “Chelsea utterly condemns all forms of discrimination, including antisemitic chanting, as we are sure do the vast majority of our fans. If we are provided with evidence that season ticket-holders or members have engaged in such activity we will take the strongest possible action, including supporting criminal prosecution.”

It is thought the Football Association could ask Stoke to hand over CCTV footage from inside the stadium. A number of fans’ faces are visible in the clips. Chelsea have previously banned supporters from singing antisemitic songs at its Stamford Bridge ground.

JC

BNP man given red card in football row

An honorary vice-president of Staffordshire Football Association has been suspended because of his links with the BNP.

Stan Leese had been threatened with expulsion from the county FA after standing as a BNP candidate in last month's local elections. The 75-year-old former football coach represented the far-right party in Stoke-on-Trent's Northwood and Birches Head ward, and lost by just 30 votes.

But his candidacy angered county football chiefs, who claimed his political views were at odds with the FA's equal rights and anti-racism policies.

Ahead of the election, Mr Leese, of Woodhead Road, Abbey Hulton, distributed campaign leaflets stating that he had been made an honorary life vice-president of Staffordshire FA for his services to local football over 60 years. This message was attached to a leaflet criticising Stoke-on-Trent City Council's tolerant attitude towards Muslim residents and warning that the city could become dominated by mosques and Muslim culture.

Staffordshire FA chief executive Brian Adshead had threatened Mr Leese with disciplinary action unless he quit the BNP or resigned from the FA before polling day.

But Mr Leese did neither, and appeared before the FA's board of directors on May 22. Following that meeting, the board suspended Mr Leese from the FA for three years. In a letter, board chairman Roger Street told Mr Leese: "The board do not believe you are in any way racist.

"They do, however, feel that your action in standing as a British National Party candidate in the local elections was not in the best interests of Staffordshire Football Association. The association seeks to promote equality in football and is against any form of discrimination. Because of this your membership of Staffordshire Football Association is suspended for three years with immediate effect."

Mr Leese is furious at the board's decision and may appeal.

He said: "I am absolutely disgusted because I don't feel I have done anything wrong. I have been involved in football for 61 years, more than 40 of them with the FA, working with people of all ages and races."

Mr Leese, who is also chairman of Abbey Hulton Community Association, said he only stood for the BNP because the party offered to do his canvassing while he recovered from a hip operation.

He said: "I have stood as an Independent a couple of times, but they wouldn't really help with my canvassing this time. Then BNP group leader Alby Walker approached me and said that if I stood for them they would handle everything. I don't regret standing for the BNP, and had I been elected I would have gone to the FA and asked for their advice on the situation. But as I wasn't voted in, I don't see what the problem is."

Mr Walker said the party is determined to fight Mr Leese's suspension on his behalf. He said: "We feel it is unfair of the FA to take this action just because of Stan's membership to a political party. We are going to ask them to explain their appeals process and are taking legal advice from BNP headquarters."

The Sentinel

Hungarian football clamps down on rampant racism

With a fresh racism scandal to hit Hungarian football, the national football federation (MLSZ) have decided to tackle the issue head on by implementing punitive measures for the new season.

Former national coach Kalman Meszoly was forced to resign from the football federation board just days after making racist remarks in public.

“They have hardly just come down from the trees,” said Meszoly in an interview with Hungarian television channel Sport TV, concerning African players with Hungarian clubs.

The Mahatma Gandhi association, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that looks after the interests of Africans in Hungary, were quick to react and requested that European football’s governing body (UEFA) investigate the manner in which the MLSZ are fighting racism.

The remarks by Meszoly follow the largest racism scandal to hit Hungary when last season the federation docked three points from Budapest club Ujpest for crowd trouble during their domestic league tie against Debrecen. The supporters chanted monkey noises every time Senegal striker Ibrahim Sidve touched the ball. As a result of the three-point penalty, Ujpest ended the season in third place, which cost the club substantial earnings and a qualification spot in the UEFA Cup.

Racism has persistently plagued the Hungarian league, despite a tiny number of their players being coloured – five in the First Division for 2006-2007 and 10 this term. African players have also been attacked outside the stadiums and at underground train stations.

For the 2007-2008 season the MLSZ have announced a “zero tolerance” policy against racism and have published a charter on the official website (www.mlsz.hu). The Hungarian federation have asked all referees to interrupt games at the first sign of racism in the stands, and if the racism continues to award the three points to the victimised team. The stadium of the offending supporters will also be closed if there is a second offence coupled with the points deduction, according to FIFA guidelines. However the team will be relegated to the division below if there is a third offence. The rules also apply to verbal offences towards the opposition and referees.

Agence France-Presse

The Red White And Blue Lagoon

THE LAGOON PUB in Tipton offers an insight into how the British National Party run their affairs.

Cllr Jamie Lloyd: dodged a bullet fired by a man in his pub. Sandwell Council stripped the landlord of his licence to run the drinking den recently after a spate of violent incidents, including beatings. The landlord, Jamie Lloyd, is also a BNP Sandwell councillor, former parliamentary candidate in West Bromwich West, and local leader of the far-right party. On one occasion a man entered the establishment brandishing a machete, and on another a man fired a semi-automatic weapon, reportedly at councillor Lloyd. Police eventually lost patience with the Lagoon, which is situated in Princes End, the ward represented by Councillor Lloyd, and in January the Council's licencing committee closed the pub. Cllr Lloyd is reported to have failed to report the incident to police, and hampered their enquires by failing to give a statement and delaying the handing over of CCTV footage. Until its' closure, the Lagoon served effectively as the BNP's local "headquarters", and a regular drinking hole for BNP foot soldiers, and the pub football team - the Tipton Boilers - played in a strip sponsored by the party. The Football Association later ruled that soccer teams are forbidden from wearing a strip that displayed a political message. The Lagoon was also noted for hanging effigies of three Tipton terror suspects held in Guantanamo Bay, who were later released without charge. If this is how the BNP run a pub, some locals have mused, what horrors lie in wait should they get their hands on political power. BLACK INFORMATION LINK

Hope not Hate blog: Football healing Oldham's divisions

What a privilege to see Manchester in sunshine! A really beautiful day - great washes of sun across a bright blue sky as we headed up to the Oldham Athletic stadium at Boundary Park early this morning.

We were met by dozens of kids from a local primary school who are taking part in a special Football in the Community project and took a stadium tour with them.

Oldham's problems with racial tensions have been well covered and don't need re-hashing here, but these were a group of children from all different ethnic backgrounds, and the guy running the project, James Mwale, explained that football was a brilliant way to get different messages across.

If kids play together in teams they tend to stop noticing each others' skin colour, and once they get to know young people from other backgrounds they realise what they have in common. It challenges their ideas (or more importantly their parents' ideas). Their school is in an area where substantial numbers of votes go to the BNP in local elections which is why this work is so important. A couple of the kids said they had experienced racist bullying, but said the project was helping them to integrate with the other kids.

Anyway, the kids loved the stadium tour, and even the Man City and United supporters enjoyed meeting Oldham Athletic Centreback Neil Trottman - an FA cup goalscorer no less...!

It was fascinating to see what a football club looks like behind the scenes, the kitchens and TV rooms and a faint whiff of Eighties' aftershave lingering in the air.

After Oldham I wanted to go to Bernard Manning's Embassy Club with the loudhailer, but we were short of time and had to get right across Manchester to Salford by 11.45 to meet champion boxer and Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan at the gym he trains at. It was a much bigger gym than yesterday's and the air was thick with fresh sweat, deep heat and adrenaline. There's something good about boxing gyms though, and I think it's the contrast to posey sort of London healthclubs, which are all lycra bodysuits, blonde wood and hairdryers. These were men and women in ordinary unfancy kit sweating their guts out on battered equipment.

Amir's workout was phenomenal: the skipping alone deserved an Olympic medal. His concentration was absolute and his feet seemed to bounce in perfect time like a metronome. He has an amazing manner about him, a very direct honesty. He leapt up into the driver's cab of the bus and signed our Hope not Hate flag and spoke brilliantly to our film crew about why racism made no sense. Even racists must have cheered when he won that silver medal. He's a one-man pint-sized retort to bigotry.

After Amir, we screeched off (well crawled) to Granada Studios, home of Coronation Street, where the bus was honoured to receive such luminaries as Hayley Cropper (Julie Hesmondhalgh), Kelly Crabtree (Tupele Dorgu) and Jerrry Morton (Michael Starke, or, frankly, Sinbad), household favourites one and all.

Each person spoke movingly and articulately about racism, about standing up for what you believe is right. As Tony the driver said: "Who needs a script if you can talk like that?"

Brilliant end to a top day out - thank you Manchester!

Hero of the day: Amir Khan. Beautiful boy, beautiful soul, astonishing ambassador for Britain.

Observation of the day: Among anti-racists it seems the rule is that every third man must have a beard.

Beard of the day: We're not sure if it was a beard or a cat.

Revelation of the day: The Corrie stars.... soapstars should get on their soapbox more often instead of those endless bloody clipshows of the world's 7,000 worst cop shows....

Smell of the day: Deep heat at Amir Khan's gym in Salford. It was as if the walls were drenched in it.

Tune of the day: Theme from Corrie... altogether now... "duuuh, duh, duh, duh-duh, duuuuur..."

Mirror

Racist chants at West Ham investigated by police

West Ham United's season took a turn from the shambolic to the shameful on Sunday when large groups of supporters were filmed chanting racist and anti-semitic slogans at half-time of the club's 4-3 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that its football unit is investigating a complaint made by the Community Security Trust, an organisation that protects Britain's Jewish community from anti-semitism. Among the chants heard was one stating: "I'd rather be a Paki than a Jew".

Clips of the chants had been posted on the YouTube website by a member going by the username of "cockneymatt88". The trust noted that the number in the username might have been a neo-Nazi reference, the 88 being the eighth letter of the alphabet twice over, standing for "Heil Hitler".

Though the username took down the clips at about 5pm yesterday the Football Association had already forwarded the video to police. The FA will request that West Ham provide all available CCTV footage to investigators, and will push for prosecutions and for football banning orders to be imposed on guilty parties.

There had been a storm of protest from Tottenham fans to their club, who in turn lodged a formal protest with West Ham. "We have contacted West Ham and they are conducting an investigation," said Tottenham, "we are awaiting the outcome of that." West Ham distanced themselves from the actions of a section of their supporters while pointing to their own anti-racist credentials. "West Ham is a leading [anti-racist] campaigner and will not tolerate racist behaviour of any kind," said the club. "We will investigate this matter fully, attempt to identify the perpetrators and take the appropriate action."

The FA's head of stadia, Chris Whalley, will write to the relegation-threatened club today to demand an explanation for the security and stewarding provisions it has in place. The FA will want to know why there was no intervention from stewards to put a stop to the chanting, which took place at half-time when the home side were leading Spurs 2-0.

Piara Powar, director of the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign, said: "There are very, very clear guidelines given to stewards; there is a section on the training programme about how to deal with this sort of incident.

"Either these guys have not been trained in the right way or they have ignored their training and were too frightened to intervene. This had the classic ingredients: a passionate match, a relegation-threatened club against one known as a Jewish club. It's a throwback and it shows we can't be complacent."

Guardian