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David James: 'I've never thought John Terry was racist – and neither is football'
The former England goalkeeper was shocked by the allegations made against John Terry and says racism is now limited to a small number of fans
John Terry and David James line up for England at Wembley. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images
Last weekend I was shocked to hear that the England captain, John Terry, had been accused of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand when the two defenders clashed on the pitch. It was the second such incident to hit the headlines in a month, after Manchester United's Patrice Evra told a French TV channel that Liverpool's Luis Suárez had used the N-word against him during their match at Anfield. Suárez has denied the accusation.
In recent days media speculation regarding Terry in particular – or JT as he is known among the players – has reached fever pitch, with TV footage playing on a loop on the sports channels, and dressing rooms up and down the country debating the news.
I have found the whole episode rather surreal. Having spent 26 years in football, playing in the Premier League and internationally, I had thought the days of racism in the game were over. After the horrors of the 1970s and 1980s, when players were subjected to monkey chants and had bananas thrown on the pitch at them, it beggars belief to hear of one player racially abusing another on the field. As far as I was concerned football had cleaned up its act.
Certainly the accusation against the England and Chelsea captain has surprised me. Over the years I've been in many England squads with JT. We've been in close quarters, sitting chatting in his room, interacting with the other England players – black, white and mixed race – and at no point have I ever been given the impression that he was racist.
Playing for Chelsea and England he is surrounded by black and mixed-race players so you would think that if he was prone to that kind of language he would have been found out by now.
Admittedly racial language is sometimes used in the changing room or at training grounds between black or mixed race players as a type of banter.
As in other walks of life, when it is used exclusively between ethnic minorities, it is a way of reaffirming a sense of identity. JT has naturally been privy to that kind of banter but has, rightly, never joined in.
But in the heat of the battle players do sometimes resort to using insults on the pitch to aggravate the opposition. It is seen as acceptable gamesmanship and if one player can gain the advantage by saying something that will upset another player, they may well do.
In cricket they call it "sledging", and I came across numerous examples of it when I read the former Australia international Shane Warne's autobiography last year.
The problem, of course, is when the exchange moves from insults about your wife, to insults involving the colour of your skin. That can never be condoned and there is simply no place for it on the football field.
The JT incident has made international news. For a man captaining an England team known for its racial diversity the implications are grave – and the authorities are under pressure to take action. Inevitably the question being asked now is whether football has a problem with racism. When I began my career, racism was a huge issue in the game.
Progressing through the ranks as a young footballer there were numerous accounts of racist incidents, such as the famous moment when John Barnes back-heeled a banana off the pitch during the Liverpool derby in 1988.
For the most part the abuse tended to come from supporters rather than fellow players, although the exception to this was an account I heard from Garry Thompson of apprentices being covered in boot polish in the early 1980s – but that was a generation ago and I certainly never witnessed anything like that myself.
My own worst experience of racism in the game came as a young player with Watford, travelling to Blackburn's Ewood Park in 1991. I had rarely ventured outside of London at that point in my life and naively assumed that people all over the country were accepting of multiculturalism.
It was a bit of a shock to be on the receiving end of racist abuse from thousands of fans that afternoon. The club had a chocolate promotion on and I will always remember thousands of bars being hurled onto the pitch at myself and the other black players. We were shocked and disgusted. It certainly put me off Cadbury Boost bars forever. In retaliation our players picked up the chocolate bars and launched them back into the crowd, which had us giggling in the bus on the way home. After winning 2-0 we turned to humour – had we lost the match we might not have been so quick to highlight the comedy in the situation.
Since then the only racism in football that I have experienced has come from isolated voices in the crowd. Even then it has been some years since I have heard anything like that, although admittedly there are certain football grounds where you steel yourself and expect to receive the odd comment.
As a goalkeeper, in particular, spending the full 90 minutes standing right next to the crowd, you are especially vulnerable to such abuse. Of course the authorities would like us to report such things but in the middle of a match with your back to the stand how are you supposed to identify your abuser without losing concentration on your game? Instead we rely on the support from the overwhelming majority of fans who refuse to tolerate such language at their football ground.
Does football still have a problem with racism? Before writing this column I canvassed opinion at my club, Bristol City. From young apprentices to older players and physios the overwhelming response was a resounding "no". Only one person relayed an incident regarding a manager many moons ago.
You would, however, be foolish to conclude that there are no racists in English football – there must be, becauses racist elements exist in society as a whole. But either they've been converted and become less racist, or they simply go home frustrated every night, unable to air their views.
An investigation by football's governing body will seek a verdict on the JT incident, although it is questionable to what extent limited video evidence can determine guilt or innocence.
My own hope is that the entire episode will send a strong message out to those who may be tempted to abuse others using that kind of language: there are cameras about, and you will be found out. It might just make certain individuals think again.
David James has donated his fee for this column to charity
Dixie Dean, 1938
After a game at Tottenham a spectator shouted to Everton's striker William "Dixie" Dean: "We will get you yet, you black bastard." A policeman overheard. Dean said: "It's all right officer, I'll handle this" and punched the fan. The policeman winked and said: "That was a beauty but I never saw it officially."
Cyrille Regis, 1980s
Regis recently described appearances for West Bromwich Albion . He recalled "going to Millwall or West Ham and have 5,000 fans chanting '************, ************, lick my boots'".
John Barnes, 1988
An image of the former England and Liverpool winger John Barnes shows him backheeling a banana off the pitch during an FA Cup tie. "I don't remember doing that," Barnes later said of the photograph. "I mean the picture is there but bananas back then were common."
Ron Atkinson, 2004
The former Manchester United manager resigned as an ITV pundit after racist comments about Marcel Desailly were picked up by microphones after a broadcast had ended. Atkinson said: "He's what is known in some schools as a ********ing lazy thick ************."
Spain v England, 2004
England's Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole were subjected to monkey chants during a friendly in Madrid. Fifa fined the Spanish FA £44,750.
Andy Nicolson
The former England goalkeeper was shocked by the allegations made against John Terry and says racism is now limited to a small number of fans
- David James
- The Observer, Saturday 29 October 2011
- Article history
John Terry and David James line up for England at Wembley. Photograph: John Sibley/Action ImagesLast weekend I was shocked to hear that the England captain, John Terry, had been accused of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand when the two defenders clashed on the pitch. It was the second such incident to hit the headlines in a month, after Manchester United's Patrice Evra told a French TV channel that Liverpool's Luis Suárez had used the N-word against him during their match at Anfield. Suárez has denied the accusation.
In recent days media speculation regarding Terry in particular – or JT as he is known among the players – has reached fever pitch, with TV footage playing on a loop on the sports channels, and dressing rooms up and down the country debating the news.
I have found the whole episode rather surreal. Having spent 26 years in football, playing in the Premier League and internationally, I had thought the days of racism in the game were over. After the horrors of the 1970s and 1980s, when players were subjected to monkey chants and had bananas thrown on the pitch at them, it beggars belief to hear of one player racially abusing another on the field. As far as I was concerned football had cleaned up its act.
Certainly the accusation against the England and Chelsea captain has surprised me. Over the years I've been in many England squads with JT. We've been in close quarters, sitting chatting in his room, interacting with the other England players – black, white and mixed race – and at no point have I ever been given the impression that he was racist.
Playing for Chelsea and England he is surrounded by black and mixed-race players so you would think that if he was prone to that kind of language he would have been found out by now.
Admittedly racial language is sometimes used in the changing room or at training grounds between black or mixed race players as a type of banter.
As in other walks of life, when it is used exclusively between ethnic minorities, it is a way of reaffirming a sense of identity. JT has naturally been privy to that kind of banter but has, rightly, never joined in.
But in the heat of the battle players do sometimes resort to using insults on the pitch to aggravate the opposition. It is seen as acceptable gamesmanship and if one player can gain the advantage by saying something that will upset another player, they may well do.
In cricket they call it "sledging", and I came across numerous examples of it when I read the former Australia international Shane Warne's autobiography last year.
The problem, of course, is when the exchange moves from insults about your wife, to insults involving the colour of your skin. That can never be condoned and there is simply no place for it on the football field.
The JT incident has made international news. For a man captaining an England team known for its racial diversity the implications are grave – and the authorities are under pressure to take action. Inevitably the question being asked now is whether football has a problem with racism. When I began my career, racism was a huge issue in the game.
Progressing through the ranks as a young footballer there were numerous accounts of racist incidents, such as the famous moment when John Barnes back-heeled a banana off the pitch during the Liverpool derby in 1988.
For the most part the abuse tended to come from supporters rather than fellow players, although the exception to this was an account I heard from Garry Thompson of apprentices being covered in boot polish in the early 1980s – but that was a generation ago and I certainly never witnessed anything like that myself.
My own worst experience of racism in the game came as a young player with Watford, travelling to Blackburn's Ewood Park in 1991. I had rarely ventured outside of London at that point in my life and naively assumed that people all over the country were accepting of multiculturalism.
It was a bit of a shock to be on the receiving end of racist abuse from thousands of fans that afternoon. The club had a chocolate promotion on and I will always remember thousands of bars being hurled onto the pitch at myself and the other black players. We were shocked and disgusted. It certainly put me off Cadbury Boost bars forever. In retaliation our players picked up the chocolate bars and launched them back into the crowd, which had us giggling in the bus on the way home. After winning 2-0 we turned to humour – had we lost the match we might not have been so quick to highlight the comedy in the situation.
Since then the only racism in football that I have experienced has come from isolated voices in the crowd. Even then it has been some years since I have heard anything like that, although admittedly there are certain football grounds where you steel yourself and expect to receive the odd comment.
As a goalkeeper, in particular, spending the full 90 minutes standing right next to the crowd, you are especially vulnerable to such abuse. Of course the authorities would like us to report such things but in the middle of a match with your back to the stand how are you supposed to identify your abuser without losing concentration on your game? Instead we rely on the support from the overwhelming majority of fans who refuse to tolerate such language at their football ground.
Does football still have a problem with racism? Before writing this column I canvassed opinion at my club, Bristol City. From young apprentices to older players and physios the overwhelming response was a resounding "no". Only one person relayed an incident regarding a manager many moons ago.
You would, however, be foolish to conclude that there are no racists in English football – there must be, becauses racist elements exist in society as a whole. But either they've been converted and become less racist, or they simply go home frustrated every night, unable to air their views.
An investigation by football's governing body will seek a verdict on the JT incident, although it is questionable to what extent limited video evidence can determine guilt or innocence.
My own hope is that the entire episode will send a strong message out to those who may be tempted to abuse others using that kind of language: there are cameras about, and you will be found out. It might just make certain individuals think again.
David James has donated his fee for this column to charity
Dixie Dean, 1938
After a game at Tottenham a spectator shouted to Everton's striker William "Dixie" Dean: "We will get you yet, you black bastard." A policeman overheard. Dean said: "It's all right officer, I'll handle this" and punched the fan. The policeman winked and said: "That was a beauty but I never saw it officially."
Cyrille Regis, 1980s
Regis recently described appearances for West Bromwich Albion . He recalled "going to Millwall or West Ham and have 5,000 fans chanting '************, ************, lick my boots'".
John Barnes, 1988
An image of the former England and Liverpool winger John Barnes shows him backheeling a banana off the pitch during an FA Cup tie. "I don't remember doing that," Barnes later said of the photograph. "I mean the picture is there but bananas back then were common."
Ron Atkinson, 2004
The former Manchester United manager resigned as an ITV pundit after racist comments about Marcel Desailly were picked up by microphones after a broadcast had ended. Atkinson said: "He's what is known in some schools as a ********ing lazy thick ************."
Spain v England, 2004
England's Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole were subjected to monkey chants during a friendly in Madrid. Fifa fined the Spanish FA £44,750.
Andy Nicolson