Kick It Out Chair on Boulton & Co show

Kick It Out Chair, Lord Herman Ouseley, appeared on Sky News’ Boulton & Co show earlier today (26 October).

On how far the game has come…“The problem of racism is one in football but also one in society. Football has worked very hard over the last decade and more to tackle the problem both inside grounds from fans’ abuse, players themselves and the regulatory bodies such as The FA building it into its rules and regulations that these matters are not acceptable and dealt with through formal process.

“The problem of players on the field abusing each other isn’t one in the way that it used to be. Sportspeople deal with these things in the heat of the moment according to how they perceive things being said to them and it’s either abusive or hurtful and they want to do something about it there and then.

“When it happens we’d urge the response be via the referee where he or she can intervene and take action, report it and bring it to the attention of The FA so that they can consider it.”

On current events…“We’re seeing high-profile names attracting huge publicity and quite rightly, but you don’t see racism making the headlines when a player in the lower leagues is abused. Players at this level are still role models; they have influential roles within their club structure. Those people who go as part of 3,000 maximum attendances at each game have their heroes too.”

On Europe…“There are problems in Eastern Europe and parts of Italy and Spain as well some parts of France but that’s not to say we in the UK haven’t got problems, we have. But we mustn’t over exaggerate it.

“The fact that it’s come to the fore in this way enables us to examine whether our procedures work. We also have to recognise that these are allegations and we need to see whether the evidence stacks up so there is a long way to go. But if we can encourage people to be operating in a way that they won’t accept abuse, in whatever form it takes, then we’re on the right track.”