Author Topic: New racism scandal rocks English football (Read 965 times)

guest42 · « **on:** Sun 21 Nov 2021 10:28 »

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/20/new-racism-scandal-rocks-english-football

English football has been rocked by a fresh racism scandal after black and Asian referees revealed the scale of abuse and prejudice that, they say, is holding them back.

A dossier compiled by match officials, and seen by the Observer, alleges that racism in the Football Association’s refereeing system is undermining efforts by black and Asian people to reach the highest levels of the game.

The diversity report submitted to the FA contains racist comments allegedly made by the observers who assess referees for promotion to the higher leagues. The FA is now facing calls for an urgent inquiry.

Tony Burnett, chief executive of the anti-racism charity Kick It Out, said: “The lack of diversity in refereeing is our biggest failure in football. Black and Asian people are not getting through to elite refereeing.”

An investigation by the Observer reveals:

A report presented to the FA highlights allegations of racism among observers who mark referees for promotion. One observer is alleged to have told one referee: “You lot can all run fast, but that’s all you are good for.”

The lower levels of the refereeing system have been dubbed by some referees from ethnic minorities the “black man’s graveyard” because of allegations they are blocked by a small number of white assessors from reaching the highest levels.

There are no black or Asian referees officiating in the Premier League or Championship. There are just four referees from ethnic minorities officiating in the country’s top seven divisions.

The FA’s 14-member referee committee, which has the task of improving diversity in the 24,500-strong referee workforce has no black or Asian representatives.

A 2015 FA report on diversity in refereeing, Widening the Net, set a target of 10% of its referee workforce being from ethnic minorities. The FA says ethnic minorities among referees has risen from about 4% in 2015 to about 8%.

Joel Mannix, chair of the Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage Ethnicity (BAME) Referee Support Group and one of the highest-ranked black referees in the country, said: “You’ve got observers who are racist and they are marking down officials on their colour.” He said reforms need to focus on representation, recruitment and retention.

The group submitted a diversity report last year to the FA that detailed alleged racist comments by observers. It compiled the report from referees from ethnic minorities to show the racial discrimination faced out by some referees. The report set out a road plan for reform. The BAME Referee Support Group now wants the FA to publish a detailed breakdown of the number of referees from ethnic minorities officiating across the various divisions.

The Observer understands that referees have also compiled evidence on one observer, including video footage seen by the newspaper, who is alleged to have made racist comments.

FA officials said that they did not comment on individual allegations, but would “investigate all alleged incidents of discrimination”.An analysis of FA figures has also found the official diversity figures cited by officials are of limited use because they are inflated by including white Polish and Irish referees as minority ethnic groups. The FA confirm last week that all referees who were not from “white British backgrounds’ were recorded in the ethnic minority figures.

There are about 24,500 referees in England, most of whom officiate amateur Sunday league football. While amateur referees may get as little as £25 a match, the professional referees can earn more than £100,000.

Campaigners say while the football world will next year be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the FA Cup, it will also be a reminder that in its history no black or Asian referee has ever officiated at the tournament’s final.

The FA said an equality working group is working on recommendations on the recruitment, retention, support and development of referees from all backgrounds. It is also updating its diversity figures and was unable to provide any detailed breakdown of its current figures.

A spokesperson said: “We remain committed to ensuring the diversity of those playing, coaching, officiating and leading English football is truly reflective of our modern society. As part of this, within the 2018-2021 national game strategy we set inclusion targets across the game for the first time.”

guest42 · « **Reply #1 on:** Sun 21 Nov 2021 10:33 »

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/20/elite-football-in-england-has-40-referees-all-white-why-dont-black-officials-get-top-jobs

Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham under bright blue skies at White Hart Lane on 11 May 2008 was described by the sports writers at the time as a lacklustre affair.

But it has turned out to be a historic fixture: it was the last time a black referee officiated in England’s top league.

It was hoped Uriah Rennie, the Premier League’s first black referee, would be the trailblazer for a new generation of minority ethnic referees.

Instead, the business administration and law graduate, who refereed more than 170 Premier League matches, proved to be an outlier.

Top minority ethnic referees say the answer lies in a refereeing report on diversity submitted to the FA in the summer of last year.

The 53-page report, compiled by the Black, Asian and Mixed Ethnicity Referee Support Group, alleges that some of the FA observers who assess referees for promotion to the higher leagues are racist.

According to the report, one observer is alleged to have told a referee: “You lot can all run fast, but that’s all you are good for.” Another is claimed to have said: “If you want to progress, you need to cut your dreadlocks.” Another made an offensive comment about throwing a banana.

The FA this weekend faces calls for an inquiry into its referee programme and allegations of racism; more transparency over its diversity policies; and an audit of the appointment system for referees.

Reuben Simon, 49, from Hanworth, west London, who was a referee in southern England between 2005 and 2015, said he was initially baffled at why the significant number of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) referees officiating in the lower leagues were not climbing the ranks as quickly as white officials. He concluded that racism and unconscious bias were blocking them.

Simon said: “There are lots of black referees at the grassroots level, but they are not getting through the system. It’s possible that every single black referee is rubbish, but if that’s absurd, what’s the other conclusion? They are being blocked because of racial bias.

“Not every observer is racially biased, but the margins are so small the higher you go up the system that if just one person marks you down it’s game over.”

Simon said he told a senior FA official in 2011 that regular and transparent audits of observers, including the use of “ghost observers” to shadow official assessors, would tackle the issue of racism and unconscious bias. The proposal was not taken up.

Mannix, who chairs the BAME support group and is a level-2 referee, said: “Levels 3 and 4 are known as the ‘black man’s graveyard’ because you’ve got observers who are racist and they are marking down officials on their colour.” He said the observers were mostly “old, white males”.

The frustration is compounded by the fact that the FA’s 14-strong referee committee overseeing the diversity initiatives has no black, Asian or mixed heritage members. It is headed by David Elleray, a former referee who was sanctioned by the FA in 2014 after allegedly making racist comments to another official.

Mannix said the FA was keen to address the diversity issue, but was not implementing the fundamental changes required. He recounted how, during one diversity meeting, a senior FA official had suggested that additional black referees could be recruited from among people leaving prison.

“It was incredibly insulting,” Mannix said.

Tony Burnett, chief executive of the anti-racism charity Kick It Out, said: “Black and Asian referees are not getting through to elite refereeing and it suggests a systemic problem. We need a review so we can understand the numbers and home in on the problem. It will not be a quick fix. This is going to take years.”

The FA’s official diversity figures are of limited use because they have been boosted by counting white Irish and white Polish referees as ethnic minorities.

bmb · « **Reply #2 on:** Sun 21 Nov 2021 14:09 »

It sadly does not surprise me. Some of the observers out there belong with the dinosaurs. I remember attending a seminar for assessors, about 10 years ago now, I was the only female - the rest were in the main middle aged white men. It really was an old boys club. A couple of really misogynistic comments about belonging in the kitchen and did male referees find me distracting - I'm a short, tubby old lady, not some beautiful young lady!! Some condescending comments about did I even know the offside law and the usual BS women in mens football face. Oh and the "this way" has worked for years, why should we change. Ummm how about because the game is different to 90 years ago when you started out! I didn't see or hear any racism but given the level of open misogyny I'm pretty sure it would be there along with some homophobia thrown in for good measure. A lot of those dinosaurs are still assessors, I doubt they accept the new 'observer' title instead. In some cases though it is about ability, one long time retired referee I know I have heard saying many times he'd have been a FIFA ref had he been white and I have always replied to him BS you were a crap ref, I assessed you many times and know that to be fact!

edy · « **Reply #3 on:** Sun 21 Nov 2021 16:50 »

Unfortunately it doesn't surprise me either.

Observers in my country as mostly old (over 60 y.o.), inadequate and only interested in money. This can be said for all 3 national categories. Especially in the 3rd category there are observers who can't properly write a report. Some of them don't know the marking system.

rustyref · « **Reply #4 on:** Sun 21 Nov 2021 21:06 »

I don't agree that observers are racist, OK, there might be a miniscule percentage but they realistically wouldn't stop the progression of BAME officials. The reason there are very few BAME officials at the top level is there are very few at grass roots level. I live in London where the percentage of BAME population is very high, around 40%, and the percentage of BAME officials doesn't even come close to matching percentages in the general population, but you can't force people into refereeing.

The FA don't help though. David Elleray should 100% have been fired for his comments back in 2014, and if you don't lead from the top you are always going to leave yourselves open to accusations of not leading the fight.

Conkernut · « **Reply #5 on:** Fri 26 Nov 2021 08:55 »

This thread has been open for five days yet has only managed to attract three responses (other than the two OP's)

Affy_Moose · « **Reply #6 on:** Fri 26 Nov 2021 10:33 »

Quote from: rustyref on Sun 21 Nov 2021 21:06

I don't agree that observers are racist, OK, there might be a miniscule percentage but they realistically wouldn't stop the progression of BAME officials. The reason there are very few BAME officials at the top level is there are very few at grass roots level. I live in London where the percentage of BAME population is very high, around 40%, and the percentage of BAME officials doesn't even come close to matching percentages in the general population, but you can't force people into refereeing.

The FA don't help though. David Elleray should 100% have been fired for his comments back in 2014, and if you don't lead from the top you are always going to leave yourselves open to accusations of not leading the fight.

I think it may be due to a few, not unreasonable, factors.

1. Nervousness about input on such subjects
2. Lack of familiarity to comment on the issue
3. Lack of actual data to discuss (no one doubts the anecdotal points made, but commenting on them isn't always useful)

I know the FA have targeted 8/9%. Does anyone know the percentages at each level? (excepting the higher levels which we know to be poor).

It wouldn't take a skilled statistician to identify whether there are other factors at play when accounting for numbers at each stage, and knowing what they have been historically.

bmb · « **Reply #7 on:** Fri 26 Nov 2021 18:00 »

Quote from: Conkernut on Fri 26 Nov 2021 08:55

This thread has been open for five days yet has only managed to attract three responses (other than the two OP's)

I guess some of that is that we don't have available a factual data sheet that we can pick apart - it's easier to dissect facts than it is to dissect personal accounts. Personal experience will vary, largely based on the pigmentation of your skin. Someone white is highly unlikely to have been subjected to racist abuse/profiling personally, at most they may have witnessed it happen to a friend or colleague. If you have officiated with just white colleagues then the chance of you personally witnessing it are vastly lowered to if you regularly work with someone non-white. I remember having a heated debate with a guy I have known for 30 odd years, post the Brexit referendum, who told me there was no evidence of racism locally & it simply didn't happen, despite me recounting several incidents towards my son, then one day we were having a coffee in town and he heard and witnessed racial abuse towards my son including a comment along the lines of 'we voted to get rid of people like you, why are you still here, eff off back to where you come from' - the shock on his face was huge! He now realises it does happen. The point there being it's easier to believe it doesn't happen if it's something you have never witnessed personally.

I think on here we are all of the mindset that we long for the day where colour, sexuality, sex etc no longer matters and live in hope every day that it's not still happening but it does. Those that tend to see it are those that are the targets of it - whether racist, sexist, homophobic or whatever other vile discrimination is out there. I will add not every BAME/female/gay official will be subjected to abuse or held back for being BAME/female/gay and there is a tiny minority who will try and blame their lack of progress on the fact they are held back because they are BAME/female/gay rather than just accepting that they quite simply are not good enough to progress beyond the level they are at.

It's a difficult one - those in the ivory towers like to bury their heads in the sand, they do the same in relation to the level of abuse & assaults at grassroots level to be honest let alone issues of discrimination from within. No-one wants to talk about it, it's an uncomfortable subject, as Affy says a nervousness, no-one wants to be falsely accused of being racist because they don't word something quite right for example. It doesn't matter if it's a small minority of incidents or common place - 1 incident is 1 too many. The talk needs to happen at Ivory Tower level in particular. Some white people need to learn to open their ears and really listen, some BAME people need to calm down and talk calmly and openly instead of shouting. I get the anger, I'm not dismissing the anger but for productive talks to ever happen people need to talk and listen.

Quote from: rustyref on Sun 21 Nov 2021 21:06

The FA don't help though. David Elleray should 100% have been fired for his comments back in 2014, and if you don't lead from the top you are always going to leave yourselves open to accusations of not leading the fight.

Completely agree.

David Elleray really disappointed me, to put it mildly! He had taken an interest in bmb jr when he was just 10/11 (jr not DE), he'd arranged training for him, set him learning opportunities, spent time with him teaching him the LOTG, countless advice regarding knowing them & implementing them etc. He often commented on what a polite, respectful young man he was. When jr was racially abused he was on the phone within 48 hours offering support and wanting to know how he could help. Troy Townsend was already involved by then but he still phoned me every few days to check up on jr. Jr adored him so when that all came out it was devastating for him. Among others of course!

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Author Topic: New racism scandal rocks English football (Read 965 times)

guest42

New racism scandal rocks English football

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edy

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Conkernut

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bmb

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