Race in Football
Over the years we’ve witnessed racism in football and thought it is disappeared. Recently people have started to question its re-emergence, when racism just evolved to adapt to modernity.
Racism seems to be very prominent in football. Raheem Sterling has been very vocal about his experience of how black footballers are treated and portrayed in media. Football is a microcosm of English society. The UK is a country that prides itself on being diverse and insist that it’s not racist, yet racism in football is so normalised to the point where there is rarely punishment for racist behaviour. On Sky Sports News in 2020 they still continue to discuss about racism in football when this issue was supposedly ‘in the past’. Black football players facing monkey chants and objects thrown at them like they are animals is dehumanizing, they shouldn’t have to either ; tolerate it or walk off the field, there should be a punitive approach to the disgusting behaviour of racist fans. Players that often speak about the racial experiences are often gas lit and told to know their place they become alienated which is racism itself. In 2019 Millwall v Everton, Millwall was fined £10,000 when their fans chanted racist abuse. In a game of England v Bulgaria, England were haste to point out the racism coming from Bulgaria, which Is good however it is a shame they fail to acknowledge and deal with the racism in our own country. Hartlepool United v Dover Athletic National League 21st September 2019, Inih Effiong was the subject to racist abuse by Hartlepool fans. Luckily, Hartlepool was fined and banned 2 of the perpetrators. Ultimately, the only positive aspect of seeing and hearing about these experiences are that there is more proof to prove these racial experiences and people are starting to understand just a little fraction of what black football players have to go through.
Race, politics and crime
Britain is a country that is multi ethnic, multicultural, they like to think of themselves as tolerate and diverse. But several incidents and scenarios over the past 10 years would suggest otherwise such as Brexit, British celebrities that call out racism, Windrush scandal, Jamaica 50, Boris Johnson’s comments on minorities, Racial bias in the Criminal Justice System, the racialization of knife crime and the scapegoat of Drill and the Racialization of Islamophobia and terrorism.
“Our local area has changed. It doesn’t feel English anymore”, “You don’t look like you were born here. You don’t look like you live around here.” These are some of the various micro-aggressions that BAME groups experience especially during the brexit era. “Make Britain British again" when English people say this of course they mean make Britain white again. Is it a coincidence that racial and religious hate crime increased after the vote to leave for Brexit?
The Windrush scandal to put it simply, under the British Nationality act 1948: UK colonies were allowed the right to settle in the uk. Black people from the Caribbean legally migrated to England to be British citizens along with their children who would have been British citizens. All of a sudden in 2018 their information and credentials were mysteriously lost and they couldn’t prove there are British identity so they were deported. This was deemed as a ‘administration error’ when really it is institutionally racist, those people who suffered through the Windrush lost their jobs, were denied health care and were put in immigration detention centres locked up in cages like animals.
Jamaica 50 incident was 50 deportations back to Jamaica not all 50 people were deported at the same time. The courts decision to deport them is what sparked the media attention. These Jamaica 50 were people that had supposedly committed crimes although that’s not the case for all of them. Some were drug offences and others were falsely accused. The media portrayed a narrative and made it seem like they committed the most heinous crimes. Sajid Javid referred to them as Foreign Nationals when the majority have lived in Britain since childhood (around 8/9 years old). People are trying to understand the controversy behind this decision. Jeremy Corbyn said it best “One rule for black boys and another for white" this statement could not be more accurate. Why aren’t MPs who admitted drug usage and were later promoted receiving the same punishment or some form of discipline for setting a bad example to the public? People don’t understand that this is the racialization of citizenship/ immigration status and how this proves we aren’t all equal in an so called ‘equal society’.
Islamophobia has increased ever since brexit and the consistent terrorist attacks in 2016-2017. Islamophobia is not racism but there is a racial element to Islamophobia. Islam and Islamophobia is almost synonymous to Arab, black or brown people hardly ever associated with Albanian, Chechnya or Bosnians. Jean Charles De Menezes was not muslim even though it was a case of 'mistaken identity' he looked arab enough to die like an accused terrorist. Nick Robinson stated “Lee Rigby's murderers were of muslim appearance” the murderers were wearing Jeans and jacket which is western attire. They were of Sub Saharan African descent Nigeria to be specific so ultimately what he meant was they weren’t white. In a interview on good morning Britain rapper Akala was discussing knife crime he said “ a black person does something negative the entire so-called community is to blame when a black person does something positive that person is allowed to be viewed as an individual” this is applies to the muslim community. Every terrorist the media indirectly blame Islam while putting the ethnic origin of the terrorist on the headline of they can and then everyday muslims have to explain how “that is not Islam” they shouldn’t have to explain that. The media truly amplifies these situations and it leads to unnecessary bigotry. There is a hierarchy to victimization in the media. When the media reports on Black and Asians who have committed actions of terrorism they’re ethnicity is put forward, past convictions if any, no regards to their mental health. When white people commit terrorist actions the media calls it ‘terrorist-like, an incident, massacre’ any word except terrorism. Their mental health is taken into consideration as is their upbringing. They are made to feel humanized.
Every year on question time or the big question or politics live the question of “Is Britain Racist?” “Is Islamophobia on the rise?” “Are we still living in an unequal society?” Continued to be discussed but there’s a cycle of not listening, minimizing people experiences and denying solid evidence that’s right in front of them. The UK needs to wake up and realise it is a racist unequal society. Acknowledging that alone is half the battle but they cannot even do that.
References
‘Millwall charged after alleged racist chanting during FA Cup tie with Everton’, The Telegraph, (21 February 2019), <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/02/21/millwall-charged-alleged-racist-chanting-fa-cup-tie-everton/> accessed 19th April 2019
Jamie Gardner, ‘Bulgaria vs England racism: 16 arrested in connection with abuse during Euro 2020 qualifier’, The Independent, (Friday 18 October 2019), <https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/bulgaria-england-racism-arrests-number-euro-2020-qualifier-bfu-fa-a9161501.html> Accessed 19th April 2019
‘Hartlepool United fined over racist abuse during Dover Athletic match’, BBC News, (31 January 2020, Hartlepool), <https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51330925> Accessed 19th April 2019
‘Raheem Sterling opens up about racism In football, PFA voting and Man City’s quadruple chase’ 9th April 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz1eYbajerE Accessed 19th April 2020
Maya Goodfellow, ‘Yes, the Uk media’s coverage of Meghan Markle really is racist’, Vox, (17 January 2020), <https://www.vox.com/first-person/2020/1/17/21070351/meghan-markle-prince-harry-leaving-royal-family-uk-racism> Accessed 19th April 2020
Amy Walker, ‘Danny Baker fired by BBC over ‘offensive’ royal baby ape tweet’, The Guardian, (Thu 9 May 2019), <https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/may/09/danny-baker-apologises-for-chimp-tweet-about-royal-baby> Accessed 19th April 2020
Helen Lock, ‘Rapper Dave Calls Out Racism in the UK in Powerful Final Verse at BRIT Awards’, Global Citizen, (Feb. 19, 2020), <https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/BRIT-rapper-dave-calls-out-uk-institutional-racism/> Accessed 19th April 2020
‘Rapper Stormzy says UK is 'definitely' racist’, ITV News, (21 December 2019), <https://www.itv.com/news/2019-12-21/stormzy-says-uk-100-per-cent-a-racist-country/> Accessed 19th April 2020
Dawn Butler calls out Boris Johnson racism, (5th March 2020), https://www.indy100.com/video/trending/dawn-butler-calls-out-boris-johnson-racism-iILnbwP7 Accessed 19th April 2020
‘The Windrush scandal and the Jamaica deportation flight: what you need to know’, The Week, (Feb 11, 2020), <https://www.theweek.co.uk/92944/who-are-the-windrush-generation-and-why-are-they-facing-deportation> Accessed 19th April 2020
Binning Lives Saves Lives, <https://binningknivessaveslives.com/> Accessed 19th April 2020
4Front Project, <https://www.4frontproject.org/> Accessed 19th April 2020
‘Nick Robinson says sorry for saying suspected Woolwich killers were “of Muslim appearance” ‘, The Telegraph, (23 May 2013) <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10076799/Nick-Robinson-says-sorry-for-saying-suspected-Woolwich-killers-were-of-Muslim-appearance.html> Accessed 19th April 2020
Akala praised for knife crime debate on Good Morning Britain that made Piers Morgan 'sit up and listen', The Independent, (18th March 2019) <https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/akala-knife-crime-good-morning-britain-piers-morgan-alex-beresford-stabbing-a8827831.html> Accessed 19th April 2020
Over the years we’ve witnessed racism in football and thought it is disappeared. Recently people have started to question its re-emergence, when racism just evolved to adapt to modernity.
Race, politics and crime
Britain is a country that is multi ethnic, multicultural, they like to think of themselves as tolerate and diverse. But several incidents and scenarios over the past 10 years would suggest otherwise such as Brexit, British celebrities that call out racism, Windrush scandal, Jamaica 50, Boris Johnson’s comments on minorities, Racial bias in the Criminal Justice System, the racialization of knife crime and the scapegoat of Drill and the Racialization of Islamophobia and terrorism.
“Our local area has changed. It doesn’t feel English anymore”, “You don’t look like you were born here. You don’t look like you live around here.” These are some of the various micro-aggressions that BAME groups experience especially during the brexit era. “Make Britain British again" when English people say this of course they mean make Britain white again. Is it a coincidence that racial and religious hate crime increased after the vote to leave for Brexit?
Ever since Harry announced that that he was together with Megan there were subconscious indirect forms of racism against Megan. Constantly being compared to Kate Middleton, her DNA being referred to as ‘exotic’ when that word has a historical colonial context, and presenters like Danny Baker calling the royal baby Archie ‘royal chimp' thankfully he was fired instantly.
Other celebrities like rapper Dave and Grime artists Stormzy called out the uk for its racism in particular the Prime Minister for his comments about Muslim women who wear the burqa as ‘letterboxes' and referring to black people as ‘piccaninnies with watermelon smiles'. Of course there were no repercussions for saying these outrageous statements. Dave said "they say hey you should be grateful we are least racist whether you’re the least or most you’re still racist". If a man used to beat his wife 5 times a day and now beats her 2 times a day, it would not matter because it is about the principle. No one should be subjected to abuse. People should not be dignifying a reduction of abuse. Whenever ethnic minorities in particular black people speak about racism in the UK they are immediately shut down, their experiences are minimalized and they are told to be grateful for being allowed to be in this country...... as if we weren’t born here. Labour MP Dawn Butler was on TV in an interview sitting with other panellist talking about Boris Johnson’s racist comments and the first thing that at the other panellist done was shut her down and made it seem like it was worse to be called racist than experiencing racism. British people are sick of being accused of racism but take no consideration of those who are actual victims of racial experiences.
Other celebrities like rapper Dave and Grime artists Stormzy called out the uk for its racism in particular the Prime Minister for his comments about Muslim women who wear the burqa as ‘letterboxes' and referring to black people as ‘piccaninnies with watermelon smiles'. Of course there were no repercussions for saying these outrageous statements. Dave said "they say hey you should be grateful we are least racist whether you’re the least or most you’re still racist". If a man used to beat his wife 5 times a day and now beats her 2 times a day, it would not matter because it is about the principle. No one should be subjected to abuse. People should not be dignifying a reduction of abuse. Whenever ethnic minorities in particular black people speak about racism in the UK they are immediately shut down, their experiences are minimalized and they are told to be grateful for being allowed to be in this country...... as if we weren’t born here. Labour MP Dawn Butler was on TV in an interview sitting with other panellist talking about Boris Johnson’s racist comments and the first thing that at the other panellist done was shut her down and made it seem like it was worse to be called racist than experiencing racism. British people are sick of being accused of racism but take no consideration of those who are actual victims of racial experiences.
The Windrush scandal to put it simply, under the British Nationality act 1948: UK colonies were allowed the right to settle in the uk. Black people from the Caribbean legally migrated to England to be British citizens along with their children who would have been British citizens. All of a sudden in 2018 their information and credentials were mysteriously lost and they couldn’t prove there are British identity so they were deported. This was deemed as a ‘administration error’ when really it is institutionally racist, those people who suffered through the Windrush lost their jobs, were denied health care and were put in immigration detention centres locked up in cages like animals.
Jamaica 50 incident was 50 deportations back to Jamaica not all 50 people were deported at the same time. The courts decision to deport them is what sparked the media attention. These Jamaica 50 were people that had supposedly committed crimes although that’s not the case for all of them. Some were drug offences and others were falsely accused. The media portrayed a narrative and made it seem like they committed the most heinous crimes. Sajid Javid referred to them as Foreign Nationals when the majority have lived in Britain since childhood (around 8/9 years old). People are trying to understand the controversy behind this decision. Jeremy Corbyn said it best “One rule for black boys and another for white" this statement could not be more accurate. Why aren’t MPs who admitted drug usage and were later promoted receiving the same punishment or some form of discipline for setting a bad example to the public? People don’t understand that this is the racialization of citizenship/ immigration status and how this proves we aren’t all equal in an so called ‘equal society’.
Our justice system is failing incredibly. Theresa May, 13th July 2016 “ if you’re black you’re treated more harshly by the criminal justice system then if you’re white”. The 'Oval Four' in March 1972 were 4 black men that were arrested on supposed suspicion of stealing a handbag. This being a recent exonerated case they were all found guilty of assaulting police officers and theft in November 1972. The case was overturned 47 years after the original arrest and this police officer was also known for being corrupt. The Criminal Case Review Commission stated that officer Ridgewell was part of a group of undercover police officers who are known to confront young black men at tube stations accuse them of theft then arrest them for resisting arrest. Another story upon stories of the racial bias, dysfunctional justice we have. I’d like to think we came a long way since Stephen Lawrence. We did, then there was Christopher Alder, Mark Duggan, Edson Da Costa, the list goes on and on. Police just seemed to target black men like it is Hunting season. Also Gov.uk indicates that there is a problem with racial profiling when it comes to stop and search arrest and detention custodial sentences etc. There is a difference between committing a crime, being arrested for a crime and being convicted of a crime. Statistics show that black people had the highest stop and search rates in every police force area for which there was data. Black people were over 3 times as likely to be arrested as White people – there were 35 arrests for every 1,000 Black people, and 10 arrests for every 1,000 White people. Among juveniles sentenced in 2017, the Black ethnic group had the highest percentage of offenders sent to a young offenders institution. A population that only makes up 3.3% of the country is over represented in the criminal justice system only proves elements of racial profiling and bias.
Knife crime in the uk has existed since the 1980s but has always been associated as a 'black problem' even though that’s clearly not the case when you look at statistics. The media and government using blackness as a explanation/factor for a crime is not only racist but scapegoating. When it comes to situations of paedophilia, we don’t look at whiteness being at factor or explanation because paedophilia can apply to any race. Another issue which was prevalent in the media is the criminalization and scapegoat of drill music. Looking at demographics of drill artists, there are more white people who are drill artists than black people but black people are disproportionately portrayed negatively in media. These black drill artists are talking about their experiences in their areas/communities that don’t have enough funding, investment or policing and are left to fend for themselves. That is their reality that society continues to turn a blind eye to. Drill has been notoriously criticised for its explicit lyrics..... which strikes the question. Why is parliament not held at the same standard for their profanity? Quotes of MPs are just as violent and explicit such as “I won’t knife you in the back, I will knife you in the front"- Jess Philips, “I will not rest until she chopped up in bags in my freezer”- George Osborne, “Get on your knees B*tch"-Clive Lewis. If young black men are being held accountable for their words in music then should politicians not be held accountable for their words too? These words that appear on drill are the same words that appear in parliament. Blue story a film about love of that incorporates knife crime and gang violence gets banned from Vue Cinemas because it glorifies ‘gang violence’ when the film indicates that there is nothing good about being in a gang and it will haunt eventually. Why does a film that promotes rehabilitation from gangs and promotes positive teenage experiences in deprived areas get banned and labelled after a few days of its release? Binning Knives Saves Lives so far has collected a total of 837 knives off the streets, The 4Front Project is a member-led organisation that empowered young people who have experienced youth violence and been victims of the criminal justice system. The government criminalised drill music, does nothing else to address the issue of knife crime and people have to rely on charities and non-profits organisations to not only feel heard but feel safe.
Every year on question time or the big question or politics live the question of “Is Britain Racist?” “Is Islamophobia on the rise?” “Are we still living in an unequal society?” Continued to be discussed but there’s a cycle of not listening, minimizing people experiences and denying solid evidence that’s right in front of them. The UK needs to wake up and realise it is a racist unequal society. Acknowledging that alone is half the battle but they cannot even do that.
References
‘Millwall charged after alleged racist chanting during FA Cup tie with Everton’, The Telegraph, (21 February 2019), <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/02/21/millwall-charged-alleged-racist-chanting-fa-cup-tie-everton/> accessed 19th April 2019
Jamie Gardner, ‘Bulgaria vs England racism: 16 arrested in connection with abuse during Euro 2020 qualifier’, The Independent, (Friday 18 October 2019), <https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/bulgaria-england-racism-arrests-number-euro-2020-qualifier-bfu-fa-a9161501.html> Accessed 19th April 2019
‘Hartlepool United fined over racist abuse during Dover Athletic match’, BBC News, (31 January 2020, Hartlepool), <https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51330925> Accessed 19th April 2019
‘Raheem Sterling opens up about racism In football, PFA voting and Man City’s quadruple chase’ 9th April 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz1eYbajerE Accessed 19th April 2020
Maya Goodfellow, ‘Yes, the Uk media’s coverage of Meghan Markle really is racist’, Vox, (17 January 2020), <https://www.vox.com/first-person/2020/1/17/21070351/meghan-markle-prince-harry-leaving-royal-family-uk-racism> Accessed 19th April 2020
Amy Walker, ‘Danny Baker fired by BBC over ‘offensive’ royal baby ape tweet’, The Guardian, (Thu 9 May 2019), <https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/may/09/danny-baker-apologises-for-chimp-tweet-about-royal-baby> Accessed 19th April 2020
Helen Lock, ‘Rapper Dave Calls Out Racism in the UK in Powerful Final Verse at BRIT Awards’, Global Citizen, (Feb. 19, 2020), <https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/BRIT-rapper-dave-calls-out-uk-institutional-racism/> Accessed 19th April 2020
‘Rapper Stormzy says UK is 'definitely' racist’, ITV News, (21 December 2019), <https://www.itv.com/news/2019-12-21/stormzy-says-uk-100-per-cent-a-racist-country/> Accessed 19th April 2020
Dawn Butler calls out Boris Johnson racism, (5th March 2020), https://www.indy100.com/video/trending/dawn-butler-calls-out-boris-johnson-racism-iILnbwP7 Accessed 19th April 2020
‘The Windrush scandal and the Jamaica deportation flight: what you need to know’, The Week, (Feb 11, 2020), <https://www.theweek.co.uk/92944/who-are-the-windrush-generation-and-why-are-they-facing-deportation> Accessed 19th April 2020
‘Oval Four: Final conviction quashed in corrupt detective case’,
BBC News, (24
March 2020) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-52022925>
Accessed 19th April 2020
Ethnicity Facts and Figures
Stop and Search, Gov.UK, Published 19 March 2020, <https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest> Accessed 19th
April 2020
Rap
song featuring quotes from MPs highlights ‘toxic’ language of politics,
Express & Star, (Oct 25, 2018)
<https://www.expressandstar.com/news/viral-news/2018/10/25/rap-song-featuring-quotes-from-mps-highlights-toxic-language-of-politics/>
Accessed 19th April 2020
Blue Story: UK cinema ban
called 'institutionally racist', BBC News, (26 November 2019) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-50543213>
Accessed 19th April 2020
Binning Lives Saves Lives, <https://binningknivessaveslives.com/> Accessed 19th April 2020
4Front Project, <https://www.4frontproject.org/> Accessed 19th April 2020
‘Nick Robinson says sorry for saying suspected Woolwich killers were “of Muslim appearance” ‘, The Telegraph, (23 May 2013) <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10076799/Nick-Robinson-says-sorry-for-saying-suspected-Woolwich-killers-were-of-Muslim-appearance.html> Accessed 19th April 2020
Akala praised for knife crime debate on Good Morning Britain that made Piers Morgan 'sit up and listen', The Independent, (18th March 2019) <https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/akala-knife-crime-good-morning-britain-piers-morgan-alex-beresford-stabbing-a8827831.html> Accessed 19th April 2020
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