Facts about Racism in Football - Research Proposal Example

 Racism in Football Introduction In the 80s, large numbers of black players started coming into English football in and it was rather common to hear team managers and others make the claim that blacks in their team had plenty of skill, but lacked the guts which other players had (Szymanski, 2000). In present times, such comments and clear racist remarks are seldom seen but Szymanski (2000) reports that the problem is not over and the racism has merely hidden itself somewhat. While football remains the most popular sport in the world, it is helpful to understand how racism in football affects the game, the players and society in general since it is such an important part of our culture. Such an understanding is not only important for those who love or those who are a part of the game but also for those who are students of sociology, popular culture, and even human resource management. Literature Review The literature on the topic is quite varied and ranges from academic studies made of the salaries given to various players along with their race and individual performance to reports of racism given by players who have been in the field for many years. For example, Moran (2000) presents an article which discusses the presence of racism in football despite the prevalence of anti-racist initiatives within the game. He does this by presenting evidence in relation to himself and others who have faced racism. He also gives the various challenges which black players have to face due to the presence of racist behaviour and suggests that there are different forms of racism against players (Moran, 2000). His ideas of economic and salary based discrimination is supported by the study done by Szymanski (2000) who is an economist at Imperial College. This study came to the result that football clubs have discriminated against black players in more ways than one. The comparison of the salaries of black players with white players is certainly an indicator of that. Clubs are also shown to undervalue their black players even though the performance of black players is better than what their wages get them. Clubs such as Scunthorpe United and Preston North End are two of the main culprits in this regard (Szymanski, 2000). Of course the problem is not only limited to black players since British Asian footballers also face the issue of discrimination against them at the professional level. Burdsey (2004) examines the ways in which British Asian footballers perceive racism as a factor which influences their under-representation in the professional leagues. He argues that problems of race and racism often present themselves in shapes which are far more complex, nuanced and subtle than those which can be easily recognized as being racist policies. Using testimonies from British Asian players, Burdsey shows that the thoughts and opinions of British Asian footballers often contradict the viewpoint which is given by anti-racist football groups. In fact, Burdsey (2004) suggests that the media is biased as well in terms of coverage and support given to British Asian players. Many of the British Asian players in the research conducted by Burdsey (2004) have first-hand experience of playing at professional clubs and some of them had experience racist attitudes. However, as a counterpoint, some of them do not attribute the under-representation of British Asian professional footballers to racism in the game at the professional level. In fact, it is entirely possible that the under-representation and a lack of players coming from the British Asian segment of society could have other reasons. For example, at the amateur levels, many top British Asian players often play in all-Asian teams and in all-Asian leagues. This seems to have restricted their opportunities for being identified and recruited by professional clubs. Finally, Burdsey suggests that the use of British Asian coaches as cultural intermediaries would help in easing the inclusion of British Asians in professional football leagues (Burdsey, 2004). Actions have been taken by many organisations against players who have been known to engage in racist behaviour. For example, Patrick Vieira, a player for England, reports how some players have been fined or banned due to racist behaviour but also laments that not enough is being done to curb racism from the sport (Crabbe, 2004). The analysis made by Crabbe (2004) in this regard does seem to indicate that officials and the governing bodies of the sport would rather kick the issue under the carpet than come to an agreement about solving it. Crabbe (2004) states quite clearly that the situation in England (although better than before) leaves a lot of room for improvement when he says that: “In England, the cradle of football hooliganism, the debate over racism in football has evolved. Overt racism among supporters and abuse directed at black players, both of which flourished in the 1970s and 1980s, have declined steeply in recent years in the face of vociferous public campaigning, though residual prejudices against foreign players have evidently been unaffected (Crabbe, 2004, p. 38).” Methodology The research for this paper was done by locating some information from the internet and then going with the published articles and journal material on the topic. Online information was not be used for the formation of the paper due to the concerns of validity and the issue of reliability since personal opinions given by fans of the game or supports of one team could be very biased and therefore reduce the validity of the viewpoint. On the other hand, information sources such as Soccer & Society come across as being more reliable. Similarly, an article from the Economist was used to understand the financial evidence for discrimination against black players. It was also useful to look at the state of racism against players and the examples provided by Moran (2000) clearly show that racism does exist. Finally, the articles in the UNESCO Courier and Patterns of Prejudice show how racism relates to the present situation in society. Results Discussion The evidence of continuing and unabated racism against certain players based on national origin, race or ethnicity is certainly there but the causes of the racism are many and complex. For example Vieira said that he was being singled out for racist comments not because he is black but because he is French. The same complaint was made by other French super stars such as Eric Cantona and Emmanuel Petit (Crabbe, 2004). However, it seems that the comments are not understood as being racist and many simply consider these comments to be a part of the game which must be taken as they come. Crabbe (2004) tells the incident of Vieira’s tormentor who had to face disciplinary charges and says: A defender playing for West Ham faced disciplinary charges after allegedly calling Vieira a "French prat" and joking that "he could smell the garlic". "What a load of nonsense," commented West Ham manager Harry Redknapp at the time. "There is no way he should be punished. What for? For having a joke? (Crabbe, 2004, p. 38.)" Since the management of some clubs and some of the players themselves do not understand the issues surrounding the debate, it is unlikely that disciplinary hearings or even fines will have a serious impact on the situation. Racism can be expected to continue to plague the sport until concrete steps are taken to remove the root causes which cause racism to appear in our society. Till then, Asian players may continue to play in All-Asian leagues at the amateur level and never be really accepted into the professional leagues (Burdsey, 2004). It seems clear that beyond England and throughout much of Europe, the sporting grounds of football have become places where displays of supporters' and players bigotry abound. Crabbe (2004) concludes that this simply provides an outlet through sporting rivalry to racist ideals which are either dormant or hidden by society at large. These rivalries run high and passions are strong about a sport such as football and it seems very likely that racist comments will continue to arrive unabated until the social setup is changed to be more accepting of others in society. Burdsey (2004) comes to the same result when he says that the problem is with the social setup which we have in England and across Europe and it is not easy to identify one racist individual in a crowd of thousands or even a racist within a team of twenty. He says, “While we know that there is racism in football, do we really know exactly where, how and by whom it is instigated? (Burdsey, 2004, p. 297).” It could be the players, the viewers, the team management, the media and any other source which influences the game. However, Burdsey (2004) does not provide a sufficient answer to this question since it seems that no society can not pinpoint to who is a racist in a situation where ethnicity based remarks have to be taken as banter and not to be frowned on as unsportsmanlike like conduct. Therefore, as recommended by Burdsey, with a touch of resignation, (2004, p. 297) “Our task is thus to be continually aware of the fluctuating patterns and trajectories of contemporary racisms, and to map and challenge them accordingly.” The results of the study also paint a sad picture of the things which have been done to clean up racist attitudes in the game. Whiteside (2002) says that although many effective efforts have been made towards clearing the game of race based elements, these steps were taken to stop the hooligans who were spoiling the game for everyone. Even though the hooligans were known to be the strongest supporters of their clubs and diehard fans of the game, they had to be controlled with anti-racist sanitisation. It was a sanitisation process which appeared to focus on racism but was actually looking for ways to prevent hooligans from being destructive. Since the game needed a commercially acceptable face where entertainment was the main purpose, anti-racist steps were only used to stop the violence associated with the ‘fans’ of the game rather than the violence and deep seated social issues which surround the sport (Whiteside, 2002). Conclusions Like any other location where passions run high and individuals are placed in close contact with competitive sprits, verbal banter and comments are likely to come by. However, it must be understood that sometimes individuals can be hurt by what is said to them more than being physically hurt due to a collision in the game or even a wilful foul. A player who has been made mentally upset will not be able to perform at the top of his game and will certainly be less of a threat to the opposition. However, this is no way to win a game and racism needs to be removed from the sport. Essentially, I feel that we need to have the spirit of harmony and acceptance of others not only in the game itself but also in society at large since without the two there would be no sense in having healthy competitive sport. Undoubtedly racism has been reduced in the sport, but the future players and lovers of the game will have to do their best to ensure that it is removed altogether. Word Count: 1,961 Works Cited Burdsey, D. 2004, ‘Obstacle race? 'Race', racism and the recruitment of British Asian professional footballers’, Patterns of Prejudice, 38(3), p. 279-299. Crabbe, T. 2000, ‘Garlic, knives and banners: football's racist faces’, UNESCO Courier, 53(11), p. 38-40 Moran, R. 2000, ‘Racism in Football: A Victim's Perspective’, Soccer & Society, 1(1), p. 190-201. Szymanski, S. 2000, ‘Unfair play’, Economist, 356(8181), p. 55-56. Whiteside, D. 2002, ‘Racism and Anti-Racism in Football’, Soccer & Society, 3(2), p. 92-93. Read More