Racism in English football is the abuse of players, officials, and fans because of their skin colour, nationality, or ethnicity. Some may also be targeted because of their association with an opposing team, but there have also been instances of individuals being targeted by their own fans. The topic of racism in association football has been widely covered by the media as well as academic studies. There have been a range of responses by various associations, such as FIFA and UEFA, as well as by teams, and individual players and managers to address the problem.
Background The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), the Football Supporters Association (FSA) and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) have all launched initiatives in a bid to encourage more people from ethnic minorities to attend matches. In October 2019, Premier League also launched a No Room For Racism initiative, which was visible in all the matches played from 19 to 27 October. Prior to the 2022–23 Premier League, the captains announced to end the practice of taking a knee before matches. However, reaffirming their commitment to stand against racism, they decided to take a knee only on certain selected "significant moments".
Timeline Arthur Wharton, born in Gold Coast (today's Ghana), was the world's first black professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper for Darlington. Wharton was considered the first black professional footballer although he was pre-dated by Andrew Watson, a Scottish amateur footballer. Other early non-white footballers include Walter Tull and Hong Y Soo.
Dark-skinned Everton centre-forward Dixie Dean recalled how racist comments were aimed at him as he left the pitch at half time during a match in London in the 1930s. Dean reportedly punched the offender before disappearing into the players' tunnel. The authorities took no action against Dean, and a nearby police officer was alleged to have informed the victim that he had "deserved" his punishment.
Steve Mokone, a black South African who later was signed for, but never played for, Barcelona, left Coventry City in the 1950s after his manager allegedly said to him, "We brought you over here and you are not satisfied. That's the trouble with you people"; Mokone interpreted this as being racist, and he swiftly signed for Dutch side Heracles Almelo.
Roger Verdi, who is of Indian origin, changed his name from Rajinder Singh Virdee due to racism.
English football racism is usually linked with hooliganism.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, English football underwent a split between football clubs and local communities due to immigration from the Caribbean and South Asia and exclusion of the new ethnic communities,
In the 1960s, West Ham United player Clyde Best, who is black and from Bermuda, and Ade Coker a decade later, were both subjected to "monkey chants" and had bananas thrown at them during West Ham's games. Best had blamed this on the influence of the National Front on the football terraces.
At the beginning of the 1980s, by which time the number of black players was growing rapidly, the British government tried to implement measures to address behavior that was not previously considered criminal under national law to eradicate racist behavior, including the introducing a new law, the Public Order Act, which originally aimed to discourage racial hatred. Also, football clubs tried to start 'Football and Community' programs to combat racism and hooliganism.
In the 1980s, racism in football in England was rampant. Paul Canoville was abused by his own fans when he warmed up for Chelsea before making his debut. Garth Crooks was regularly subject to racist chants and banners from opposing fans during his time at Spurs. Cyrille Regis endured monkey chants from Newcastle United fans on his away debut for West Bromwich Albion in the late 1970s and was later sent a bullet in the mail following his call-up to the England squad. In 1988, John Barnes was pictured back-heeling a banana off the pitch during a match for Liverpool against Everton, whose fans chanted "Everton are white" - Barnes was the first black player to play regularly for Liverpool after signing in 1987, while Everton did not have any regular black first team players until the mid 1990s.
In the early 1990s, anti-racist campaigns began to start through partnerships with FIFA and UEFA, who launched 'Let's Kick Racism Out of Football', which targeted fans. This movement emphasized that racism in football stadiums usually comes from the fans, not the club hierarchies.
In 1991, the Football (Offences) Act 1991 was implemented by the British government, which prescribed behaviour such as racist chanting.
On 25 January 1995, Manchester United's Eric Cantona launched a 'kung-fu' style kick into the crowd, directed at Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons. Simmons had run down 11 rows of stairs to confront and shout abuse at Cantona, using the words "Fuck off back to France, you French bastard". Cantona followed the kick with a series of punches. Simmons went on trial where he claimed that he only shouted "Off! Off! Off! It's an early bath for you, Mr Cantona!", but was found guilty of abusive behavior and handed a £500 fine and banned from the stadium for a year, receiving a further sentence of a week in jail plus an additional £500 fine as well as £200 in legal costs for assaulting the prosecutor in court. Although at the time most attention was focused upon Cantona who received an eight-month ban from all football-related activity for the assault, Simmons' behavior that provoked Cantona's kick would be a decade later be regarded as racial abuse which almost certainly would have forced the partial or full closure of Crystal Palace's stadium, as well as meriting Simmons a considerably lengthier sentence.
Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore accused Liverpool defender Steve Harkness of racist abuse during a match at Villa Park in April 1998 - less than a year after his transfer from Liverpool to Villa. In response, Harkness stated: "I vehemently deny the accusation that I made racist comments to Stan Collymore."
On 21 April 2004, Ron Atkinson resigned from ITV after he was caught making a racist remark live on air about the black Chelsea player Marcel Desailly; believing the microphone to be switched off, he said, "...he [Desailly] is what is known in some schools as a fucking lazy thick nigger." Although transmission in the UK had finished, the microphone gaffe meant that his comment was broadcast to various countries in the Middle East. He also left his job as a columnist for The Guardian "by mutual agreement" as a result of the comment.
In 2004, Millwall became the first club to be charged by The Football Association over racist behaviour by their fans. The charges related to abuse aimed at Liverpool player Djimi Traoré. On 13 January 2007, The FA charged Newcastle player Emre Belözoğlu with "using racially-aggravated abusive and/or insulting words", referring to an incident during the 3–0 defeat by Everton at Goodison Park on 30 December 2006. Belözoğlu was, on 16 February 2007, accused of more racist behaviour, this time against Bolton Wanderers' El Hadji Diouf. However, on 1 March 2007, it was revealed that Diouf would not be pursuing his claim. It was also later revealed that Watford player Al Bangura had released a statement declaring that he was the victim of racist abuse from Belözoğlu. On 19 March he was cleared of the charges relating to the Everton game.
In 2004, during a friendly match with Spain, English fans chanted racist comments towards the Spanish team and fans. This incident was widely condemned by the British government. This incident, although not a new manifestation, brought greater awareness in England to the problem of racism in sports.
On 6 March 2007, it was announced that the Metropolitan Police were investigating apparent anti-Semitic chants by West Ham fans before the match with Tottenham Hotspur two days previously after a video of the offence surfaced on the Internet.
On 7 April 2007, in a match between Rotherham United and Gillingham, Gillingham keeper Kelvin Jack was racially abused by a Rotherham fan. On 13 April 2007, the fan was banned for life from the club.
Following his appointment as manager in September 2007, Israeli Avram Grant has been the subject of anti-Semitic taunts from some Chelsea fans; Grant's father was a Polish survivor of the German Nazi Holocaust; Grant has also received death threats and anti-Semitic post.
In November 2008, Middlesbrough's Egyptian forward Mido was subjected to Islamophobic chanting from a small number of Newcastle fans. Mido had been subjected to similar chants the previous year, again from Newcastle fans, and also in 2007 by Southampton fans and West Ham fans who had referred to Mido as a "shoe bomber" in reference to his likeness to Richard Reid, the British terrorist jailed in 2003.
During a League Cup match between Blackpool and Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on 22 September 2009, Blackpool player Jason Euell, who at the time was sat on the substitutes bench was racially abused by a Stoke fan, who was ejected from the stadium and subsequently arrested by Staffordshire Police before being released pending inquiries. Euell confronted the supporter that was taunting him. Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, who had to restrain Euell, was furious in his post-match interview, saying: We are human beings and Jason is a footballer. The colour of his skin shouldn't matter. It was disgusting. The stewards believed what Jason said, got the bloke out and I hope he is banned for life. [He is] an absolute disgrace of a human being. I thought those days had gone. Jason was just sat in the dugout at the time. I saw his reaction and I had to calm him down. It's absolutely disgraceful. Euell, who received an official apology from Stoke City, later said: It did hurt. I felt I had to stand up for all colours and creeds and show that we won't accept it. I'm proud that I made a stand. It was a shock to hear what came out of the guy's mouth. Racism in football is not dead and buried but it's still a shock to hear that kind of thing in close proximity. There were people near the idiot who didn't agree with it, but there were others who turned a blind eye, which was disappointing. In the wake of the incident, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp called for fans who racially abuse players to be imprisoned: "That is disgusting – there's no place for that in the game. Surely we can't have that sort of behaviour now? Anyone who does it should be put in prison – not banned from football. Stick them where they belong, in the nut-house. It's wrong."
In April 2011, an initiative was launched by comedian David Baddiel to tackle anti-semitism in the sport, which was backed by players including Frank Lampard, Ledley King and Kieran Gibbs. The same month, two followers of Chesterfield were arrested before the start of a game against Torquay United after racially abusing a young black Torquay player who was taking part in the pre-match entertainment. Offenders Trevor Laughton and Joanne Worrall were subsequently banned from watching football or from approaching the venue of any Chesterfield matches for three years.