WE’RE STILL FIGHTING!

Townsend: Much to do

Tom Hopkinson WHEN Gareth Southgate, Phil Neville, Dan Ashworth and other senior FA coaches sat down to watch a presentation by Troy Townsend earlier this year, they were shocked by some of the things they saw and heard.

“Disgusting,” was one of the words England manager Southgate used when discussing that meeting back in March.

Kick It Out’s education officer Townsend (above, right) had highlighted some of the discriminatory problems faced by people involved in the game.

And he made it clear just how much work there is to be done, even in 2018.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of Kick It Out, and Townsend said: “I’m very proud we’ve reached this landmark.

“When the organisation started, people would have questioned why, what impact would we have on the game.

“And I still think those questions are asked.

“But the impact we have had, not just in bringing discriminatory cases to light but helping people through the process of challenging discrimination in the football environment, the support we give players, the work we do with fans, is something we’re very proud of.

Challenge

“It is a fight to keep the game clean and every time there’s an incident on our pitches it kind of sets you back and people start asking questions.

“But the fact you have someone like Gareth mentioning in a press conference that we need to get our own house in order before we challenge other nations definitely helps.

“He’s right, although we’re in a better place than any other footballing nation, even though we are so diverse now in the Premier League and EFL.”

Townsend used an Instagram post by Steven Gerrard to point out some of the problems caused by social media.

The former Liverpool and England captain had put up a picture celebrating his nephew Bobby Duncan’s hat-trick in an England Under-16 victory over Brazil, in which Duncan was surrounded by several black team-mates.

Townsend added: “People were writing comments saying this should be an African team, a team from Senegal... and that just goes to show the continuing challenges we have.

“Social media is an everincreasing challenge and it provides an open forum for people to express themselves in a manner I don’t think they would in the street.” Raheem Sterling was kicked four times on the leg in a racist attack outside Manchester City’s training ground last year, leading to his assailant being jailed.

On the pitch, the Premier League suffered high-profile cases with Mason Holgate and Gaeton Bong accusing Firmino and Jay Rodriguez of racist slurs.

Ultimately, Firmino was cleared and the case against Rodriguez not proven.

Townsend admits there are times he fears we have gone backwards. “A lot of people ask if I am surprised by what I witness and hear, and I’m not anymore,” he said.

“It’s concerning that the Asian community still feel victimised on our grassroots pitches quite a bit – there are references to 9/11, aeroplane sounds, things about how every Muslim or Asian person is a terrorist.

“We’ve known occasions when those kind of noises have been made during the ‘respect’ handshake at the start of a game.

“The game can’t rest on its laurels.”