Racism and Anti-Racism in Football

232 Pages·2001·0.59 MB·English

by  Jon Garland

Racism and Anti-Racism
in Football
Jon Garland and Michael Rowe
Racism and Anti-Racism in Football
Also by Jon Garland
THE FUTURE OF FOOTBALL: Challenges for the Twenty-First Century
(co-editor with D. Malcolm and Michael Rowe)
Also by Michael Rowe
THE FUTURE OF FOOTBALL: Challenges for the Twenty-First Century
(co-editor with Jon Garland and D. Malcolm)
THE RACIALISATION OF DISORDER IN TWENTIETH CENTURY BRITAIN
Racism and Anti-Racism
in Football
Jon Garland
Research Fellow
University of Leicester
and
Michael Rowe
Lecturer in Policing
University of Leicester
© Jon Garland and Michael Rowe 2001
All rights reserved.No reproduction,copy or transmission of
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as the authors of this work in accordance with the
Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2001 by
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ISBN 0–333–73079–8 hardback
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This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Garland,Jon,1967–
Racism and anti-racism in football / Jon Garland
and Michael Rowe.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–333–73079–8
1.Soccer—social aspects—Great Britain.2.Discrimination in
sports—Great Britain.3.Athletes,Black—Great Britain—Social
conditions.4.Race discrimination—Great Britain.I.Rowe,
Michael,1967– II.Title.
GV943.9.S64 G37 2001
306.4’83—dc21
2001021213
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd,Chippenham,Wiltshire
Contents
List of Tables vii
Acknowledgements viii
1 Introduction: Contextualising Racism in British Football 1
Introduction 1
Contemporary manifestations of racism within football 4
‘Race’, racism and anti-racism 8
2 Football, ‘Race’ and the Forging of British Identity 18
Introduction 18
The Empire, football and moral and physical improvement 21
The first black professionals, 1880s–1914 28
Consolidation, 1918–60 34
Expansion, 1960–90 38
Conclusion 48
3 Standing Together? Charting the Development of
Football’s Anti-Racism 50
Introduction 50
Anti-racist campaigns 53
National and regional schemes 54
Club-based schemes 62
Loyal supporters: fans and anti-racism 73
Conclusion 81
4 Policing Racism in Football 84
Introduction 84
Fascism and football 88
Policing racism in football 97
Technological interventions against racism in football 98
Private policing 101
Legal provisions against racism in football 103
Local authorities 104
Conclusion 105
v
vi Contents
5 A Design for Life: Deconstructing the Game’s
National Identities 112
Introduction 112
The European Union and the challenge of the Bosman
ruling 115
Fair play and invented tradition: how English football
cannot escape the past 116
England at home: Bosman, politics and the globalisation
of the game 122
Coming up for air: the submerged nations, football and
national identities 130
Conclusion 139
6 Mad Dogs: England, the Media and English
Supporters during Euro ’96 and France ’98 142
Introduction 142
Euro ’96 – ‘I know that was then, but it could be again ...’ 146
France ’98 – the quest to ‘win the Cup for Diana’ 159
Conclusion: the press, hooliganism and popular
nationalism 172
7 Conclusion: Racisms and the Cultures of Football 176
Introduction 176
Racism, hooliganism and ‘antisocial behaviour’ 179
Racism and the cultures of football 183
Football and social progress 192
Notes 196
Bibliography 202
Index 215
List of Tables
4.1 Far-right involvement in football: a select chronology 90
5.1 The development of British football, 1863–1950, selected
milestones 124
vii
Acknowledgements
There are numerous people and organisations that the authors would
like to thank for their help in the preparation of this book, although
unfortunately not all can be personally acknowledged since many of
those we have spoken to were guaranteed anonymity. Therefore,
what follows is by no means an exhaustive list of all of those
who have aided and abetted us with the research for this work: Neil
Watson at Leyton Orient; Dave Turton and Cyrille Regis at West
Bromwich Albion; Brian Lomax and the Anti-Racism Committee at
Northampton Town; Yasin Patel and the CARE team at Charlton
Athletic; Ben Tegg and Piara Powar at Kick It Out; Ged Grebby of Show
Racism the Red Card; Ray Gerlach at Hounslow Borough Council;
Football Unites, Racism Divides; Leeds Fans United Against Racism
and Fascism; Foxes Against Racism; the Football Supporters’
Association; Richie Moran; the Leicester Asian Sports Initiative; the
Metropolitan Police; Brendon Batson of the Professional Footballers’
Association; Leicestershire Constabulary; the Football Trust; and
various fans, players, coaches and officials at the following clubs:
Arsenal; Tottenham Hotspur; Millwall; Brighton and Hove Albion;
Bristol Rovers; Wolverhampton Wanderers; Aston Villa; Birmingham
City; Celtic; Southend United; Everton; Leicester City; Derby County;
Manchester City; Nottingham Forest; Leeds United; Norwich City;
Luton Town; Highfield Rangers and many others who helped with
aspects of the research.
Much gratitude also to Dominic Malcolm, Adrian Beck, Ken
Livingstone and Ivan Waddington for their helpful comments on the
drafts of the book; John Benyon and Martin Gill for their advice and
assistance, and Mark Carver for conducting some of the early research.
Thanks also to Alison Cousens and Keris Howard for many excellent
late-night football debates, and also to our parents for passing on the
passion for football.
JONGARLAND
MICHAELROWE
To Karen – thanks for all your love and support, Jon
To Anna – who supported me when she could have been
supporting Spurs, thanks, Mike
viii
1
Introduction: Contextualising
Racism in British Football
Introduction
Racism came in the form of letters, chanting from the crowds,
banana throwing, monkey chanting, songs, and not just one or two
but thousands singing racial abuse, chants, that kind of stuff, and
letters through the post. I remember one time I got picked to play
for England for the first time, and I got a letter saying that if I actu-
ally stepped onto Wembley park I would get a bullet through the
knees, and there was a bullet in the letter as well, wrapped up in
cotton wool.
(Cyrille Regis, ex-West Bromwich Albion
and England striker, 1998)
Overt forms of racism in football, like those described in the quote
above, have been the focus of sustained challenges during the last
decade. Indeed, combating racism within football was a key develop-
ment within the sport in the 1990s. Since the inception of the
Commission for Racial Equality’s ‘Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football’
campaign at the start of the 1993/94 football season, the issue of
racism has had a high profile within the game. There have been a
number of conferences and seminars on the topic, as well as numer-
ous articles in the press and on television and radio, which have
highlighted the problem and attempted to assess its levels and effects.
In 1998, the government-appointed Football Task Force published the
results of its examination of racism in the game (Football Task Force,
1998), a report that contained almost 30 recommendations for action.
The development of anti-racist programmes has been but one
feature of football in the last ten years, during which time the sport
1