Why is racism in football on the backfoot
Transcriber: Maurício Kakuei Tanaka
Reviewer: Hani Eldalees
I’m sure most of you are aware
that kneeling before a match
is a regular pre-match routine in football
as a show of solidarity
with the Black Lives Matter movement.
But this was until the Ivory Coast
International and Crystal Palace forward,
Wilfried Zaha,
became the first Premier League player
to not kneel before a match.
He stood tall, with his hands
behind his back,
as the rest of his teammates
took the kneel as usual.
Your instant thought
is probably how disrespectful
and outright wrong his actions were.
But his decision
came with a strong statement
in his post-match interview
where he commented,
“It doesn’t matter
whether we kneel or stand.
Some of us still continue
to receive abuse.”
As you may have gauged,
today I’ll be speaking to you
about the Black Lives Matter movement
and racism as a whole in football.
2020 was filled with unbelievable events
that’ll be marked down in history
and provide fascinating
storytelling opportunities
for many generations to come.
But the one key event
that captivated my thoughts
and feelings most in this year
was this movement,
the Black Lives Matter movement.
Black Lives Matter, or BLM for short,
is a decentralized political
and social movement
protesting against all incidents
of police brutality
and all racially motivated violence
against Black people.
It all began with a hashtag in 2013,
and now it is a global campaign.
The International Human Rights Campaign
began in 2013 with this hashtag
and has since gone on
to lead calls for Black people
to be treated fairly in the US
and all over the world.
This movement sparked
a wave of protests all over the world
and sparked a light in my heart
that made me want
to make a difference today.
This movement was spread in the news,
across social media,
and many, many protests
were led by the likes of Anthony Joshua
and John Viega, especially,
whose infamous and powerful
Hyde Park message
really made me want to make a difference.
Listening to his speech, even from home,
sent chills down my spine.
And as he so wisely said,
“Black lives have always mattered.
We have always been important.
We have always meant something,
and we have always succeeded regardless.”
This is similar to the message portrayed
by the first Black American president.
Yes, Barack Obama,
who said so wisely and powerfully,
as he always did in the speeches,
that “I want you to know
that your lives matter.
I want you to know
that your dreams matter.
I want you to know that you matter.”
Racism is also
a major problem in football,
as I mentioned earlier,
where there have been a number
of high-profile racist incidents
in football in recent times.
While there has been significant progress
since 1978,
when Viv Anderson
became the first Black footballer
to represent England,
there’s still a long way to go
to win a society
where racism is near non-existent.
Unfortunately, there have been
uncountable number of racists attacks
in football in recent times,
with players like Raheem Sterling
and Kyle Walker,
both being racially abused,
after they suffered
the Champions League final defeat.
Marcus Rashford received at least 70,
at least 70 abusive
and racist messages online
after he suffered
his Europa League final defeat
with one person online
even being identified as a teacher.
Unbelievable.
Son Heung-min was racially abused
after he suffered
a Premier League defeat as well.
And the England squad
have been booed whilst taking the knee
in every single one of their matches
so far in their campaign.
Respectively, the Premier League
and many other leagues
have seen many great attempts
and many great ways
to try and help reduce racism in football,
from banners, online posts,
social media boycotts,
wearing shirts to convey the message,
and many, many, many famous campaigns,
like the Red Card to Racism campaign.
To watch a sport
that I have always admired
to both play and watch,
throughout my childhood
and throughout my life,
being torn apart by racism,
tears my heart apart.
The love of the game is being lost
for many, many, many true fans
who have to watch
that the players that they support
undergo these horrible experiences,
which no one should ever go through.
On multiple days during these times,
I ask myself an especially
important question,
which I would like to ask you.
Why is this still happening?
What makes certain people
feel the need to continue to do this?
Why is racism on the back foot?
Fortunately, following these movements,
it is possible to see changes
on both a minor and major scale,
to remind people
that Black lives do matter.
However, some people felt
that the Black Lives Matter movement
was hinting at Black lives mates
superior to all other lives,
and Black lives being
the most important lives.
But I cannot stress how wrong this is
because at the end of the day,
everyone is equal.
But what this movement
is trying and attempting
and succeeding to do
is raise awareness of Black lives
being treated as less,
which they should not be.
To finish off, I would like to leave you
with this especially important quote
that I so strongly stand by.
It is not Black versus white
or Black versus any other race.
It is everyone together against racism.
I have been striving by then,
and thank you for listening.
(Applause)