From the desk of Irene Mosota, FRSA, CEO, Knowledge Bridge
We were are all shocked by the most brazen and frightening gestures of racism in our society that ensued after the England game against Italy that took place on Sunday, 11July 2021. There was a sense of menace and potential messy violence decorated by a backdrop of online assaults. These racial mud slings were all directed towards the black players who missed the penalty kicks.
Those young men did their utmost for their country only to be greeted by racial abuses. Those who attacked the black players hid under the shield of anonymous social media accounts, saluting monkey emojis. Whereas before it could have been throwing bananas at the pitch. Some were even told to go home, dehumanizing black players by pelting anti-immigrant rhetoric, as if they had other homes but Britain. The online hypocrisy was clear- you are British if you win, but an immigrant monkey when you lose.
A sad example of the same is Marcus Rashford who raised over £200 million for charity. He was loved, even declared a living legend, a darling of our country. When he lost the penalty, he was confronted by monkey emojis asking him to go home and justify his existence as a human being. He was robbed of his dignity before the world. Marcus Rashford and other players of colour should never be made to feel they have to deliver on every expectation, however untenable, in order to belong. Nobody deserves to have their humanity and citizenship pegged on a penalty shoot-out or any other moveable goalposts. However, for some of us, this is the reality, no matter how loudly some of our leaders protest that it is not. People of colour are held to a different, untenable standard, and sadly, this is sometimes underpinned by laws and institutions that create a two-tier system of citizenship, based on ethnic antecedent, by law or practice.
Football leadership needs to reflect deeply on this issue. While it is fair to acknowledge that this has strongly been condemned, football leadership remains mostly white and male dominated and does not reflect the makeup of the players on the field. That’s part of the system that needs self-introspection. If, for a minute, we assume that the captain was a black person, would they have picked all three black players to take the penalty knowing well the stakes involved and the possible racial backlash the players would face if they missed the penalty?
I understand that if they were white players, they too would have faced some backlash, but they would not face it based on their racial identity. Either of this is not acceptable. This is where the sport needs to reform and root out this abhorrent behaviour. The playground is not safe if someone is still beaten on it.
Additionally, social media platforms, which have become a safe haven for the hate mongers, should do more to moderate and expose these abuses and have stricter rules for anonymous accounts holders, making it completely unsafe for them to shield.
Arguably, the cowards (yes, they are cowards) who abused the young courageous black men did so because their behaviours were enabled by those in power and who often deny that racism exists. Obviously, the oxygen racism needs to survive is denial by the elites. Yet, these elites often pay lip service to anti-racism.
Whilst we continue to deny that racism exists in our society, such denial creates a sense of hypocrisy. On one hand denying that there is racism and on the other hand condemning it.
The least we should do is to acknowledge that racism still exists in our society, in our institutions. In football, in particular, it has become part of the culture and experience of the game for some.
As such, racism is constantly evolving and mutating, taking the most insidious forms. Unfortunately, the narrative of anti-racism in football comes across as a rare wisdom that no one seems to understand or possess in order to effectively deal with.
Racism is painful. It robs people of their dignity and sense of worth. Neutrality is no longer acceptable; and to minimise it by saying ‘it’s just a few idiots’ is as good as saying there can be tragedy and affliction without perpetrators.
Football has all that it takes to reform itself. Attributing it to the old the chestnut that it is just a few bad folks is not going to cut it. We are tired of it. As a black African woman every time I hear that I shiver and think if only.
The sport needs to centre itself on values that will restore dignity ,empathy, authenticity and respect(DEAR) of the players and the game.
Imagine a football match whereby it is less fanatic but centred around the four values . Accepting that we must not look to win at any cost, even if it means eroding the dignity of black players or any players for that matter. To respond with empathy to the players and acknowledge both their personal and team loss for missing the penalty.
Change may take a radical stand, such as black players deciding not to play until they are treated with dignity and accorded the respect they deserve. Otherwise, the game risks being reduced to a hub for racial violence and hot spot for fostering racial prejudice.
There is a need for us to change the vocabulary that we use to engage with racism in the game and end the fight between right and wrong and instead endeavour to do the right thing in order to create a better world for the all the players and fans.