Tweet
Racism lingers in English football
DIANE ABBOTT
Sunday, April 17, 2011
DIANE ABBOTT
Sunday, April 17, 2011
A generation ago, black footballers were a rarity at the top of British football. It was grudgingly conceded that they could perform fancy football tricks. But it was widely assumed that they did not have the work rate of white players. It was also commonly asserted that they were no good in the rain or snow. Fans routinely threw bananas on the pitch if an opposing club dared to field a black player.
The emergence of star players like Jamaican-born John Barnes eliminated much of this racism. Now every top football club has a clutch of black players in their squad. They command huge salaries and are idolised by the fans. And spectators no longer throw bananas.
Everton’s Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta (left) watches as his team-mate, French defender Sylvain Distin (right) vies with Chelsea’s Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou during the FA Cup fourth round replay football match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge in west London, England on February 19, 2011. (Photo: AFP)
1/1 
But whilst racism has been largely overcome when it comes to black players, it apparently still lingers when it comes to black football managers. Although a quarter of British footballers are now black, there are only two black managers out of the 92 clubs in the four football leagues. And there has never been a black British manager in the Premiere League.
Garth Crooks, who is of Jamaican heritage, is a BBC football pundit, former Tottenham striker and one of the stars of his generation. He says: "Football should be ashamed of itself. We're certainly not in a position where we can afford to exclude a whole section of society from coaching and management. The view among black footballers used to be that they had to be much better than their white counterparts to get in the team. The same seems to be true of black managers now. I made the decision a long time ago that I would be better off making a career in broadcasting rather than management. I don't see why I should suffer the humiliation of not even getting a reply."
Another Jamaican-born football star, former England, Watford and AC Milan striker Luther Blisset has similar views.
"It's outrageous. And it does grate with me because I know there are a lot of guys who I played with who would make good coaches and managers, and the opportunity was never afforded them just because of their colour. Some may think that's oversimplifying it but can you say it's a coincidence when this thing goes on for so long? For the 20-odd years I've been applying for jobs, you start to think to yourself there's got to be more to it than a coincidence. It's insulting; in the end it's why do I bother? It's quite obvious they don't regard you in the same way as they look at your white counterparts. In the end you think, do I continue to hit my head against a brick wall?"
The career of football superstar John Barnes is illustrative. He was possibly the finest black player of his generation. In 1999, he was named manager of top Scottish club Celtic. But he was sacked after eight months because of a run of bad results. Plenty of white managers have had a bad experience at one club, been sacked but brought back to run another. But Barnes was never given a second chance.
One of the problems black managers have in breaking through may be that, whilst players are selected strictly on merit, managers are often the personal pick of football chairmen. And the chairmen of football clubs are usually in their late 60s and are prey to all the old prejudices about black football professionals.
But football fans may be more progressive than people at the top of football. A recent survey of over a 1,000 football fans and professionals revealed that 50 per cent of those polled believed that there was racism at the top of football's hierarchy. (Over 73 per cent of black fans believed this). Some of the comments made included:
"There are numerous white managers who have failed, but their name always crops up on a short list and they get jobs. When you are black you get one chance and if you mess up, that's it."
"People appoint people like themselves. White chairmen appoint white male managers. The cycle is not easily broken."
"The lack of black managers in football reflects football's view that while black men can play, they are not competent to manage."
The answer might be to follow the American example and have a rule which says that every short-list for management and coaching must have at least one black candidate. America has made much more progress than Britain on these issues; in the American NBA 40 per cent of the head coaches are black.
If racism can be defeated when it comes to black footballers it can be vanquished in relation to black managers. But it is going to take longer.
Diane Abbott is the British Labour Party's shadow public health minister
Garth Crooks, who is of Jamaican heritage, is a BBC football pundit, former Tottenham striker and one of the stars of his generation. He says: "Football should be ashamed of itself. We're certainly not in a position where we can afford to exclude a whole section of society from coaching and management. The view among black footballers used to be that they had to be much better than their white counterparts to get in the team. The same seems to be true of black managers now. I made the decision a long time ago that I would be better off making a career in broadcasting rather than management. I don't see why I should suffer the humiliation of not even getting a reply."
Another Jamaican-born football star, former England, Watford and AC Milan striker Luther Blisset has similar views.
"It's outrageous. And it does grate with me because I know there are a lot of guys who I played with who would make good coaches and managers, and the opportunity was never afforded them just because of their colour. Some may think that's oversimplifying it but can you say it's a coincidence when this thing goes on for so long? For the 20-odd years I've been applying for jobs, you start to think to yourself there's got to be more to it than a coincidence. It's insulting; in the end it's why do I bother? It's quite obvious they don't regard you in the same way as they look at your white counterparts. In the end you think, do I continue to hit my head against a brick wall?"
The career of football superstar John Barnes is illustrative. He was possibly the finest black player of his generation. In 1999, he was named manager of top Scottish club Celtic. But he was sacked after eight months because of a run of bad results. Plenty of white managers have had a bad experience at one club, been sacked but brought back to run another. But Barnes was never given a second chance.
One of the problems black managers have in breaking through may be that, whilst players are selected strictly on merit, managers are often the personal pick of football chairmen. And the chairmen of football clubs are usually in their late 60s and are prey to all the old prejudices about black football professionals.
But football fans may be more progressive than people at the top of football. A recent survey of over a 1,000 football fans and professionals revealed that 50 per cent of those polled believed that there was racism at the top of football's hierarchy. (Over 73 per cent of black fans believed this). Some of the comments made included:
"There are numerous white managers who have failed, but their name always crops up on a short list and they get jobs. When you are black you get one chance and if you mess up, that's it."
"People appoint people like themselves. White chairmen appoint white male managers. The cycle is not easily broken."
"The lack of black managers in football reflects football's view that while black men can play, they are not competent to manage."
The answer might be to follow the American example and have a rule which says that every short-list for management and coaching must have at least one black candidate. America has made much more progress than Britain on these issues; in the American NBA 40 per cent of the head coaches are black.
If racism can be defeated when it comes to black footballers it can be vanquished in relation to black managers. But it is going to take longer.
Diane Abbott is the British Labour Party's shadow public health minister
).
Comment