The Changing Face of Racism

In the build up to the confrontation between Liverpool and Manchester United, talk was dominated by pleas from both managers for the football to be the main talking point after the match. This was, after all, the first meeting since Luis Suarez had received an eight game ban for racially abusing United captain Patrice Evra. Unsurprisingly large sections of both fans managed to ignore such requests. Blinded by a fierce tribalism that only United vs. Liverpool can generate, the race row showed no signs of abating with Suarez, sitting in the stands, heckled as a racist by the travelling fans whilst Patrice Evra, despite the FA finding him to be the victim of racist language, was subject to widespread booing whenever he dared go near the ball.

In a season in which the Premier League’s supposed moral high ground over other leagues in terms of eradicating racism, has been challenged there was a troubling ease with which the behaviour of certain Liverpool fans was glossed over. ITV, who faced the thorny issue of not wanting to turn the game into Patrice Evra against Liverpool, went too far the other way and didn’t even comment on the former France captains non-stop barracking. Kenny Dalglish when pressed on the treatment of Evra post-game bristled with sarcasm, responding “what kind of question is that?” The issue was also skirted by journalists with more being made of the arrest and bail of one Liverpool fan who allegedly made a monkey gesture, than the thousands of fans who booed Evra for daring to report being the victim of racist abuse.

Club loyalties and the intense rivalry between the two clubs surely played a part in this virulent outpouring, with blind and unwavering loyalty behind their own players causing unpalatable situations. The game at Anfield illustrates clearly that although racism is not as overtly acceptable in our society, and thus football, it is fair from extinguished and is unlikely to ever be removed entirely. Racism is more subtle now and often expressed through humour, in an attempt to soften the blow, with many players now accepting it as part and parcel of football. Take the example of Emmanuel Adebayor, who was the on the receiving end of some borderline racist/humorous (depending on how you interpret it) chanting whilst facing Tottenham Hotspurs last season. The song started “His dad washes elephants his mum is a whore” and one can only assume that Adebayor didn’t enjoy listening to this song. Yet less than a year on the player finds himself playing for Spurs, as the player has seemingly puts the song behind him and not lingering on any racial connotations.

That only two out of the 92 league clubs employ black managers is a startling figure and suggests that more nuanced and subtle conventions of racism have emerged in our game. I can understand the wish of Manchester United and Liverpool to move on from the race row that has dominated the last few weeks, but to deem Evra’s treatment barely worthy of comment alludes to a deep rooted issue, one that often glosses over casual racism in the belief that nothing is wrong with the state of our game.