The PFA issues six-point action plan
The Professional Footballers’ Association has issued a six-point action plan to deal with racism.
The PFA says it is now time for tougher penalties. Culprits could be sacked and ordered to attend awareness programmes.
The response comes after Reading striker Jason Roberts, a member of the PFA’s management committee, expressed frustration that his recommendations had not been acted on.
The PFA’s plan calls for:
– Speeding up the process of dealing with reported racist abuse with close monitoring of any incidents
– Consideration of stiffer penalties for racist abuse and to include an equality awareness programme for culprits and clubs involved
– An English form of the “Rooney rule” – introduced by American football’s National Football League in 2003 – to make sure qualified ethnic minority coaches are on interview lists for job vacancies
– The proportion of black coaches and managers to be monitored and any inequality or progress highlighted
– Racial abuse to be considered gross misconduct in player and coach contracts (and therefore potentially a sackable offence)
– Not losing sight of other equality issues such as gender, sexual orientation, disability, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and Asians in football
Some of the proposals would require the intervention of the Football Association or Premier League.
In response, the Premier League said: “We have not yet received this proposal from the PFA and were not aware of it prior to the media coverage [on Wednesday].
“When we receive this proposal we will of course discuss it with the PFA at our regular meetings and engage with other organisations, including our clubs, The FA, Football League and the League Managers’ Association to discuss these important issues.”
From BBC Sport
