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ABUSE: Danny Rose

FOLLOWING THE social media boycott by top black Premier League stars, the issue of racism in our national game is once again dominating the news.

Watford striker Troy Deeney, Manchester City star Raheem Sterling and Tottenham’s Danny Rose were among the leading players who took part in a 24-hour social media boycott last Friday in a bid to combat racist abuse online.

The boycott was aimed at those who use the platforms to air their racist views, but also at the social media companies themselves and football authorities.

The initiative followed growing concerns over how they seem to be failing to challenge incidents of abuse at both grounds and online.

But following the high profile boycott, The Voice asks: what are they going to do to decisively tackle the ugly taint of racism in our national game?

For too long, it seems as though football authorities have looked the other way while black players have been abused on the pitch. It’s time for stakeholders to come together and tell the players, and those who run the game, what action must be taken to address the issue.

We are getting very close to the time when players might possibly boycott matches. Their issue, quite rightly, is that nothing would appear to be done in terms of addressing the problem effectively.

Players want positive action, or they’ll take it themselves. They are standing up and speaking out weekly via their social media platforms and gaining some traction. That is why anger is growing among fans and players when they see this abuse not being robustly dealt with or the authorities not developing initiatives to deal with the issue.

For example, the Premier League organised a two-week campaign called ‘No Room
for Racism’. It was certainly a high-pro le initiative, but given the scale of the problem, why did it last only two weeks?

The Voice has drawn up an 11 point action plan – our Starting XI - on what we feel must be done to decisively tackle racism in football.

And over the next few weeks, The Voice is inviting the Football Association, the Premier League, the English Football League and the Professional Footballers Association to discuss our Starting XI and take action on it, as well as revealing their own detailed strategies to tackle racist abuse in the game.

Our Starting XI is about demanding that the game’s governing bodies, the clubs, and the media get clear, open messages about the racist abuse we have seen in recent years is totally unacceptable.

The Voice’s Starting XI
Our 11- point action plan for the authorities to consider and then take action. We are happy to discuss...:
1. Special task force to be set up made up exclusively of former and current black players, administrators to advise stakeholders on racism issues
2. Greater support for abused players
3. Racism awareness courses for perpetrators
4. Three-point deduction for football club’s first offence and additional deductions for further offences
5. No Room For Racism campaign to be season long
6. More financial support for anti-racism and diversity initiatives at local grassroots clubs
7. Greater financial resources for Kick It Out and other organisations working to eradicate racism
8. Stronger financial sanctions against clubs failing to take action
9. More training and support for referees to respond to racist incidents on the pitch
10. More people from BAME communities in senior positions in the game.
11. Players should not be punished for taking action in response to abuse

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