Players' union boss shocked by racism in football

Players’ union chairman Clarke Carlisle has been shocked by the level of racism still encountered by some black and Asian footballers.

Carlisle, the chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association, fronts a BBC documentary called ’Is Football Racist?’, to be aired on Monday night.

He believes big improvements have been made since his playing career began but during filming his eyes were opened to the problems still posed by racism, including highly-gifted South Asian players being denied opportunities because of their ethnicity, the limited opportunities open to black managers, open displays of racism in Poland and England players refusing to speak out on the subject for fear that it might harm their careers.

“We’ve done plenty to combat racism in football, but there’s still plenty more to do,” former Burnley defender Carlisle said.

“There are still areas like the Asian footballers who were denied chances, that need to be stepped up.

“I genuinely believe that if you were good enough you’d get your chance, but there were quite a few people whose experiences blew that out of the water.”

The issue has been brought into sharp focus by an incident last season when Liverpool forward Luis Suarez was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra. The Uruguayan was banned for eight matches and fined £40,000.

Several current black England players were contacted by Carlisle to give their views on the subject, but all refused to speak out.

“We didn’t get a real answer from players about why they were so reluctant to talk,” Carlisle said.

“My personal opinion is that they don’t because nobody wants to be seen to be a troublemaker by stirring things up or to be perceived as a militant activist.

“Professional footballers earn fantastic wages but their average career span is only eight years.

“You’re not going to stick your head above the parapet, even if your perceived apprehensions are founded.

“If they’re worried it will affect their career, why would they rock the boat?”

One touching moment sees Carlisle share an emotional exchange with his father Mervin, who had attempted to shield his son from racism having been a victim of taunts and violence himself.

Carlisle, who has played in every division of English football, believes a quota system would provide a solution to certain elements of the problem.

“I do like the idea of quotas for the application process, not just for coaching or managerial jobs, but for all positions that are available within the structure of football,” he said.

“That would definitely be a pre-cursor to addressing the levels of diversity.

“What was also apparent was that the young black footballer didn’t feel as though anything was being done about incidents of racism.

“We need to address our processes in dealing with incidents – reporting mechanisms and sanctioning.

“When it comes to scouting young players I don’t have a solution, but it’s something that needs to be looked at so that clubs are encouraged to embrace their ethnic communities, especially Asian.”

Carlisle believes football should be subject to the same employment law that governs any other workplace, whereby a racist act would be a sackable offence.

:: Is Football Racist? Will be broadcast on Monday on BBC Three at 9pm.’