Extract from Commons
statement on Discrimination in Football
(Eltham) (Lab): This
year I had the pleasure of judging the football community trust
club of the year awards and was able to read the testimonies of
many football clubs and see how much work is done at those clubs
to tackle racism in our communities. Football as an institution
probably does more than any other. Does the Minister agree that
if we are to show leadership as politicians, we must put our own
houses in order and set the highest standards for membership of
our organisations when it comes to Islamophobia and antisemitic
behaviour?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport (Mims Davies): I thank the hon.
Gentleman for raising that event on the terrace here in the House
of Commons, which showed how much good work is done in clubs
across the land. It is absolutely right that we do not lose sight
of the positive things happening in our communities and, above
all, that we are not afraid of standing up to intolerance,
because frankly that does no one any good.
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Extract from Lords
statement on Discrimination in Football
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Lord Ashton of Hyde)
(Con):...Late last year the unthinkable occurred: a banana
skin was thrown on the pitch in the direction of a player during
the north London derby. Around the same time, we saw the abuse that
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling suffered at Stamford
Bridge. We all witnessed the appalling scenes of racism directed at
several of our England players in Montenegro. Homophobic and
anti-Semitic chanting, here and abroad, has also been prevalent in
recent times. English football is revered across the globe for its
excitement and passion. No other sport or country opens its doors
and embraces so many different nationalities. We simply cannot have
millions of people, in particular our young people, tuning in or
witnessing first-hand the type of vile abuse that has been apparent
of late—abuse directed at our players and our managers by opposing
fans...
(Lab):...That leads me to ask my question—which, apart
from the Facebook one, is perhaps my only serious one: how do we
change a culture? A culture in the support of our national game
permits and encourages these subversive activities. I remember
having a close association in the 1980s with those neo-fascist
groups of hooligans that went round causing trouble at various
football stadiums across the land. How do we change a culture and
allow a diverse population to feel that it has ownership of this
game, rather than it being in the hands of multimillionaires from
other places? Seriously, how do we stop black players on the pitch
being used, in a sense, as icons, heroes or puppets for people’s
own prejudices? There is deep work to be done. We could apply what
I have said to homophobia, anti-semitism and Islamophobia.
Changing a culture is difficult; in football, that seems to be the
number one question to address...
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