New PFA plan proposes sackings for racist abuse

Tougher penalties and instant sackings for racist abuse, plus the introduction of the ‘Rooney rule’ to boost the numbers of black coaches, are part of a six-point plan put forward by the Professional Footballers’ Association to tackle discrimination.

The plan, announced by PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, comes in response to a number of players who expressed frustration over their union.

Most of the points on the PFA action plan would have to be agreed by the FA and the leagues, who say they will study the proposals. The PFA’s action plan calls for:

1 Speeding up the process of dealing with reported racist abuse with close monitoring of any incidents.

2 Consideration of stiffer penalties for racist abuse and to include an equality awareness programme for culprits and clubs involved.

3 An English form of the ‘Rooney rule’, introduced by the NFL in the United States in 2003, to make sure qualified black coaches are on interview lists for job vacancies.

4 The proportion of black coaches and managers to be monitored and any inequality or progress highlighted.

5 Racial abuse to be considered gross misconduct in contracts and potentially a sackable offence.

6 To not to lose sight of other equality issues such as gender, sexual orientation, disability, anti-semitism, Islamophobia and Asians in football.

It is understood however neither the FA nor the Premier League are in favour of bringing in a Rooney Rule, where clubs would be obliged to have a candidate from ethnic minorities on shortlists for coaching jobs.

The PFA response comes after Reading striker Jason Roberts, a member of the union’s management committee, expressed frustration that his recommendations had not been acted on. He said: “The equality department in the PFA needs to change and should have stronger leadership and more than just one or two staff. It doesn’t have the resources or the manpower to tackle the job.”

Meanwhile Rio and Anton Ferdinand last night expressed their disappointment with the FA and PFA over their “actions” in the past year. In addition, they claimed the Kick it Out organisation needs to change and have offered to work with it to make it “more relevant in its fight to stamp out racism in football”.

“It has been a year since the incident at Loftus Road,” read the statement.

“During that time, some of the deep divisions that exist in football have been exposed. In the coming months there will be ongoing discussions, we are sure, on finding a way forward. We intend to participate in these discussions, along with numerous other current and ex professionals of all races, from the grassroots upwards, across the football community as a whole. Although we have been left disappointed by the PFA and the FA’s actions over the last year, as a family, we are committed to working with football’s existing organisations towards the betterment of the game and to achieve immediate action.”