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‘Kick It Out’. Powerful message yes, but unfortunately that’s all it is. A message. Racism in football and society has been highlighted massively in recent years but why has it taken this long and is enough being done?
The year is 2022 and yet racism is still a huge problem within football, the media, and society. When tackling this, honesty is the best policy and we as a society mustn’t hide behind our hands, hoping it all goes away by itself. It doesn’t.
So how do we tackle racism? Education and consequence. These two need to go hand in hand if we want to irradicate any form of discrimination. Education through school, work, and home life. Consequences include highlighting, punishment and accountability.
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For people that don’t receive or see racial discrimination, it is easy to just ignore the fact that it’s there and not even try to understand the effect it has. For people that give out racial discrimination, it is easy to just shout out abuse, with no real worry of a backlash from it.
Education starts from the top and filters right through the entire foundation of society. Education is not solely responsible for schools, it can be taught through what people (not just children) see in their general living.
Whether it be what they watch on tv or just getting to know someone, people can always learn something, if they are willing to open their minds. If someone is taught to only walk on their hands from a young age, then that’s all they will know and do.
Just like the simplicities in life such as walking on your feet, racism is taught directly or indirectly, through parenting, peers, and media.
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Imagine being told by your parents that you will have to work harder than any of your peers because of the colour of your skin. Imagine making something of yourself, only to be brought down after buying your mother a house because of the colour of your skin. Imagine no matter what kindness you do off the pitch, you miss a penalty and receive abuse because of the colour of your skin.
For people like Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford, they don’t have to imagine. Why? It’s because of the colour of their skin. Social media and mainstream media are so powerful and the way they perceive people can dictate the minds of thousands.
As a sports journalist, if I were to create a transfer rumour tomorrow and post the article, I know there be plenty of people that will believe that, even though it was something I made up. The power of the words that journalists and other media outlets use is truly impactful and they know it.
This again, leads back to education and consequence. The people reading and watching what is put out there are taking it in. The people writing and producing what is put out there are getting away with it.
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What are we teaching our children? What we see in football regarding racism is a microscopic view of what racism is like in society. The way racism is dealt with in society is just the same as it is in football, just on a bigger scale.
The fans that racially abuse players and other fans in the grounds get softer punishments if they were to run onto the pitch. The players who directly racially abuse other players get softer punishments if they were to advertise a company on their underwear.
Governing bodies around the world, including UEFA and FIFA, have been allowing racism to continue, whilst pushing out the narrative of standing against racism.
Whilst they tell players to kneel down on one knee, they are metaphorically making them kneel down on both knees as they control the real narrative. It’s all for show. Look at us. We care about racism. We have the players kneeling down in solidarity.
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If they cared about racism, it wouldn’t need a movement such as Black Lives Matter for them to do something. What are they doing? Players have been kneeling for over a year now. Has anything changed?
Black history month celebrated in media has the same energy as I am not racist because my cousin’s husband’s auntie is black. Whilst a specific race just gets one month to celebrate their entire history, aspiring managers that can create more history are being rejected and not given a chance because of systematic racism.
Indirect racism is another problem within the industry. If, for example, Harry Kane has a bad couple of months, it will not be highlighted. If Mohamed Salah were to have a bad couple of months, he is slate at every opportunity. This has happened as recently as this season.
These are just highlighted examples of racism within football, but essentially the problem as a whole is spread throughout society. From the top, down. We have a prime minister that has openly said Muslim women wearing burkhas look like letterboxes. An openly racist person is running the country and we wonder why racism is still a big problem.
I see no changes, all I see is racist faces. Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races. ‘Kick It Out’ is a powerful message, but actions speak louder than words. So let’s change it. Instead, it should be ‘Actually Kick It Out’. Out of football and out of society.
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