Racism in Football

House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee Racism in Football Second Report of Session 2012–13 Volume I Volume I: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 11 September 2012 HC 89 Published on 19 September 2012 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Culture, Media and Sport Committee The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its associated public bodies. Current membership Mr John Whittingdale MP (Conservative, Maldon) (Chair) Dr Thérèse Coffey MP (Conservative, Suffolk Coastal) Damian Collins MP (Conservative, Folkestone and Hythe) Philip Davies MP (Conservative, Shipley) Paul Farrelly MP (Labour, Newcastle-under-Lyme) Steve Rotheram MP (Labour, Liverpool, Walton) Mr Adrian Sanders MP (Liberal Democrat, Torbay) Jim Sheridan MP (Labour, Paisley and Renfrewshire North) Mr Gerry Sutcliffe MP (Labour, Bradford South) Mr Tom Watson MP (Labour, West Bromwich East) The following member was also a member of the committee during the parliament: Louise Mensch (Conservative, Corby) Powers The committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/cmscom. A list of Reports of the Committee in the present Parliament is at the back of this volume. The Reports of the Committee, the formal minutes relating to that report, oral evidence taken and some of the written evidence are available in a printed volume. Additional written evidence is published on the internet only. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Elizabeth Flood (Clerk), Sarah Heath (Second Clerk), Victoria Butt (Senior Committee Assistant), Keely Bishop/Alison Pratt (Committee Assistants) and Jessica Bridges-Palmer (Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6188; the Committee’s email address is [email protected] Racism in Football 1 Contents Report Page Summary 3 1 The problem 5 Progress 5 Continuing challenges 7 The dangers of complacency 8 The wider problem 8 Homophobia 9 2 Changing the culture 10 Legislation and enforcement 10 Grassroots football 11 Scottish football legislation 12 Education 12 The international picture 14 Representation off the pitch 15 Conclusions and recommendations 18 Formal Minutes 20 Witnesses 22 List of printed written evidence 22 List of additional written evidence 22 List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 23 Racism in Football 3 Summary Racism in football has become significantly less common in the UK due, in part, to changes in wider society but also because of awareness campaigns and codes of conduct put in place by the sport’s governing bodies and the Professional Footballers Association. The Football Association, Premier League and Football League have, for example, developed codes of conduct for staff, players and fans as well as funding and promoting anti-racism campaigns by organisations such as Kick it Out and Show Racism the Red Card. Recent incidents of racist abuse in the UK, both on and off the pitch, have highlighted the fact that racism is a continuing problem. Some of the evidence we have heard, as well as recent media coverage, have demonstrated that social media has become both a tool for the spread of racist and abusive content and a potential means of combating the ignorance and prejudice that lie behind such behaviour. We believe that the football authorities should be using this developing forum for communication and debate, to spread positive messages about equality and diversity and also to speak out against instances of racist abuse when they occur. The atmosphere experienced by those attending football matches has changed hugely since the 1970s and 80s when racial and other forms of abuse were common. Match attendance has become much more of a family-friendly activity and clubs continue to introduce measures to try to improve the standards of behaviour at matches. However, there remain significant problems ranging from homophobic abuse to what is often described as “laddish behaviour” on the terraces. Transparent and consistent methods for reporting criminal behaviour including racism are still lacking, in particular at grass roots level. There is also a clear need to encourage more candidates from ethnic minorities to train as coaches and referees to ensure that clubs and boards can select from a more diverse pool of recruits from within the football pyramid. While the general level of progress in combating racism and racist abuse is positive and should be applauded, there is much more that can and should be done. Racism in Football 5 1 The problem 1. In the 1980s racially motivated abuse was, as stated by the equality and inclusion campaign group ‘Kick it Out’, “commonplace in and around football”.1 Kick it Out now reports that “incidents of racism are rare”.2 However, racist behaviour has not been banished from the game and there are still reports of incidents occurring within and outside of matches. Racism in football has dominated the headlines of newspapers after a series of high profile events, on-pitch incidents and reported comments in England, Holland, Bulgaria, Turkey and most recently in Ukraine and Poland during the European Championship 2012. In England, the FA’s investigation into the accusations that Luis Suarez racially abused Patrice Evra, and the subsequent decision to impose an eight game ban and a £40,000 fine on the player, as well as the removal of the England captaincy from John Terry prior to his trial for allegedly using racially abusive language—of which he was acquitted—demonstrate that the issue is taken seriously. A decision has yet to be made on whether John Terry will be charged under the Football Association’s rules on the use of racially abusive language, for which there is a lower burden of proof than in a criminal court. 2. Because of the continuing concerns, we decided to hold a short inquiry into racism in football. While taking into account these recent events, we have also based our inquiry on the positive progress that has been achieved in recent years, by voluntary organisations, charities and football authorities, as well as the significant challenges that still need to be overcome. We received 14 written submissions and took oral evidence from Paul Elliott MBE, a former player for Celtic and Chelsea, Gordon Taylor, Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers Association, David Bernstein, Chairman and Sue Law, Head of Equality and Child Protection from The Football Association (FA), Raj Chandarana of the Football Supporters Association and Lord Ouseley, Chair of Kick it Out. We would like to thank all those who gave evidence to us. Progress 3. There is much to say that is positive. The FA told us that in 1993 England was the first country to make a concerted effort to rid football of the: mindless overt racism that saw our black players being regularly subjected to aggressive racist abuse from both fans and to a lesser extent, their fellow players on the pitch. Since then, the work that has been done across football, to rid the game of these forms of racism. has seen significant cultural change in the game as a whole and specifically in our stadia.3 4. We heard from Paul Elliott, former player for Celtic and Chelsea, that his generation of players (competing in the late 1980s and 1990s) had to “ put up with it” when they were 1 Ev 33, para 1 2 Ev 34, para 2 3 Ev 26, para 1.2 6 Racism in Football subject to racial abuse.4 Gordon Taylor, of the Professional Footballers Association, contrasted this with the attitude of today’s players saying that: Today’s generation of black players are far less prepared to do that or accept it as banter and that is what we are facing now, because it is a different generation.5 5. The Premier and Football Leagues both cited Home Office statistics that “show the number of arrests at football matches have been falling year on year and is currently at the lowest level [3,089] since records began in 1984-1985”.6 The number of arrests made at football matches as the result of racial or indecent chanting had “remained low” according to the Football League. During the 2010/11 season there were 16 arrests at Football League matches and 23 at Premier League matches on or near the grounds.7 According to the Premier League, 20% of its matches witnessed one or more arrests.8 The FA told us that in total 43 arrests were made as a result of racist or indecent chanting during the 2010/11 season compared to 31 arrests in the 2009/10 season.9 6. Indeed, John Mann MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Anti- Semitism, acknowledged in his report on ‘Tackling Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Football’, 2010: Football has moved well beyond most other institutions in recognising the importance of tackling racism and as the country’s most recognisable export, it has developed an intolerance to racism that exceeds the standards of most other national football associations.10 7.

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