BBC SPORT | Football | Clubs 'complacent' over racism

England's football clubs have been accused of complacency in failing to deal with racism among supporters.

A BBC survey found that only 122 fans have been banned from Premiership and Nationwide League grounds for racist behaviour in the past five years.

Figures provided by all 92 English clubs indicate there is no common strategy in place to deal with the problem, with some clubs failing to eject fans guilty of racist abuse.

The situation has been described as a "disgrace" by the game's leading anti-racist campaigning body, Kick It Out.

It may come to players walking off the pitch if we don't see improvements

Kick It Out chairman Sir Herman Ouseley

The body's chairman, Sir Herman Ouseley, believes changes need to be made from top to bottom.

"The game has taken steps to try and deal with the excesses of racist behaviour but you can't deny the fact that at the highest level of the game there is complacency," Ouseley told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"There is a certain amount of apathy and a sense that we have moved on. We're now on to building new national stadiums and racism has fallen right down the agenda.

"This complacency exists in the boardroom, among the FA. The FA Council hasn't transformed itself in a way which reflects the ethnic diversity of the game and black and Asian match-day officials are still far and few between."

Research carried out for the Football Association shows that 83% of Asian fans and 77% of black fans will not go to matches for fear of racist abuse.

Arsenal striker Thierry Henry
Henry was verbally abused by PSV fans
Several high-profile cases in international and European matches have highlighted the issue this season.

England's Emile Heskey and Ashley Cole were subjected to abuse from Slovakia fans during the Euro 2004 qualifier in Bratislava last month.

And PSV Eindhoven were fined after their fans directed chants at Arsenal striker Thierry Henry.

There were also complaints that Nottingham Forest fans abused Leicester supporters during a recent First Division game.

Zero tolerance

Ouseley, a former chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, believes direct action from the players could be the most effective weapon.

He added: "There is now a critical mass of black players playing professionally and it may come to players walking off the pitch if we don't see improvements."

Millwall chairman Theo Paphitis has defended his club against claims that their fans are the worst at dishing out racist abuse.

Paphitis believes it is a wider social problem, but insists his club are doing more than any other to stamp it out.

"I would be foolish to say racist chants don't exist - it's not an epidemic but it's still a problem," he said.

"We have a policy of zero tolerance. When we do find someone doing this we prosecute them."


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