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| Kick It Out to launch apps for players and spectators to report abuse | Kick It Out to launch apps for players and spectators to report abuse |
| (5 months later) | |
| Kick It Out, the campaign group that six months ago on Saturday was the focus of a protest by leading black footballers over the game's response to high-profile incidents of racism, is planning to launch smartphone apps next season that allow players and fans to report anonymously abuse in the stands or dressing room. | Kick It Out, the campaign group that six months ago on Saturday was the focus of a protest by leading black footballers over the game's response to high-profile incidents of racism, is planning to launch smartphone apps next season that allow players and fans to report anonymously abuse in the stands or dressing room. |
| The aim is to challenge the dressing-room omertà and fan impotency that have frustrated efforts to change the culture at all levels of the game. | The aim is to challenge the dressing-room omertà and fan impotency that have frustrated efforts to change the culture at all levels of the game. |
| The new apps, one for players and one for spectators, will make it easier and quicker for players and fans to report abuse and there are hopes within Kick It Out that they will give a more accurate picture of the scale of the problem, as well as leading to more sanctions and criminal convictions. | The new apps, one for players and one for spectators, will make it easier and quicker for players and fans to report abuse and there are hopes within Kick It Out that they will give a more accurate picture of the scale of the problem, as well as leading to more sanctions and criminal convictions. |
| Inevitably, players often feel inhibited about reporting abuse on the training ground or in the dressing room due to fears that they will not be taken seriously or will be leaned on by team-mates. | Inevitably, players often feel inhibited about reporting abuse on the training ground or in the dressing room due to fears that they will not be taken seriously or will be leaned on by team-mates. |
| In the stands, despite exhortations by clubs to report abuse, fans often feel inhibited about doing so during a match – particularly if they are season ticket-holders who sit in the same place each game. Although many clubs promote a telephone hotline, it is hoped that the app will allow fans to report racist, homophobic or antisemitic abuse as it occurs. | In the stands, despite exhortations by clubs to report abuse, fans often feel inhibited about doing so during a match – particularly if they are season ticket-holders who sit in the same place each game. Although many clubs promote a telephone hotline, it is hoped that the app will allow fans to report racist, homophobic or antisemitic abuse as it occurs. |
| Like almost everything else Kick It Out does, the project has been developed on a shoestring, by calling in favours and relying on goodwill. As the Premier League debates how to divide its £5.5bn broadcasting windfall, there are fears that unless Kick It Out's budget is significantly increased it will be impossible for it to perform the wider, more proactive role demanded of it by those players who protested last October. | Like almost everything else Kick It Out does, the project has been developed on a shoestring, by calling in favours and relying on goodwill. As the Premier League debates how to divide its £5.5bn broadcasting windfall, there are fears that unless Kick It Out's budget is significantly increased it will be impossible for it to perform the wider, more proactive role demanded of it by those players who protested last October. |
| With a permanent staff of six who inhabit a small office four floors above a Pizza Express in London, Kick It Out receives £125,000 a year from the Football Association, the Premier League and the Professional Footballers' Association – all of which laud its work over the past two decades. Funding discussions are ongoing but the sports minister, Hugh Robertson, conceded it would find it hard to fulfil its remit on its current income. "The level of funding they have at the moment makes it almost inevitable that black players operating at the cutting edge of this feel that it is not enough," he told the Guardian. | With a permanent staff of six who inhabit a small office four floors above a Pizza Express in London, Kick It Out receives £125,000 a year from the Football Association, the Premier League and the Professional Footballers' Association – all of which laud its work over the past two decades. Funding discussions are ongoing but the sports minister, Hugh Robertson, conceded it would find it hard to fulfil its remit on its current income. "The level of funding they have at the moment makes it almost inevitable that black players operating at the cutting edge of this feel that it is not enough," he told the Guardian. |
| The protests from Reading's Jason Roberts, Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand, his brother Anton (then at Queens Park Rangers), Manchester City's Micah Richards and others were fuelled by anger over the Luis Suárez and John Terry affairs, the perceived inaction of the FA, Uefa and Fifa, and frustration that they were not being listened to by governing bodies or their union. The annual "weeks of action" held by Kick It Out, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary and runs a range of programmes across football, provided a convenient platform for dissent. | The protests from Reading's Jason Roberts, Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand, his brother Anton (then at Queens Park Rangers), Manchester City's Micah Richards and others were fuelled by anger over the Luis Suárez and John Terry affairs, the perceived inaction of the FA, Uefa and Fifa, and frustration that they were not being listened to by governing bodies or their union. The annual "weeks of action" held by Kick It Out, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary and runs a range of programmes across football, provided a convenient platform for dissent. |
| Roberts, who eloquently challenged the status quo in the wake of the T-shirt protest in October last year, when the Reading striker and Rio Ferdinand refused to wear them while warming up before their Premier League games, told the Guardian that progress was long overdue and yet to go far enough. | Roberts, who eloquently challenged the status quo in the wake of the T-shirt protest in October last year, when the Reading striker and Rio Ferdinand refused to wear them while warming up before their Premier League games, told the Guardian that progress was long overdue and yet to go far enough. |
| "From my point of view, not enough has been done yet. You have had the plan from the FA but it hasn't gone far enough. It seems there are no deliverables, there are no measurables. It's just nice words. Not wearing the T-shirt wasn't a specific attack on Kick It Out," he said. | "From my point of view, not enough has been done yet. You have had the plan from the FA but it hasn't gone far enough. It seems there are no deliverables, there are no measurables. It's just nice words. Not wearing the T-shirt wasn't a specific attack on Kick It Out," he said. |
| "I don't think the authorities were taking it seriously enough and are still not taking it seriously enough. We are moving in the right direction but we're still behind time. The PFA are doing some great work with their equalities department and we're now discussing coaching fair play, a variation on the Rooney rule [employed by the NFL to promote coaches from ethnic minority backgrounds]." | "I don't think the authorities were taking it seriously enough and are still not taking it seriously enough. We are moving in the right direction but we're still behind time. The PFA are doing some great work with their equalities department and we're now discussing coaching fair play, a variation on the Rooney rule [employed by the NFL to promote coaches from ethnic minority backgrounds]." |
| He said that the protests "needed to happen" to move the agenda on. "In hindsight you can see that something needed to happen and people needed to look at the issue in a new light. The player of today may not have gone through the booing of the 80s. We're not simply happy that isn't happening any more – we don't expect it to happen," he said. | He said that the protests "needed to happen" to move the agenda on. "In hindsight you can see that something needed to happen and people needed to look at the issue in a new light. The player of today may not have gone through the booing of the 80s. We're not simply happy that isn't happening any more – we don't expect it to happen," he said. |
| "There are new issues there. Before it was being treated as a human being on the football pitch. We've won that battle, thankfully, but you only have to look at the boardrooms, at management, at the media. In every other facet of the game, there's a problem." | "There are new issues there. Before it was being treated as a human being on the football pitch. We've won that battle, thankfully, but you only have to look at the boardrooms, at management, at the media. In every other facet of the game, there's a problem." |
| Clarke Carlisle, the Northampton Town defender and PFA chairman, says: "I didn't agree with the T-shirt protests at the time. I wore mine because I thought Kick It Out was the wrong target. I told those players who weren't going to wear their T-shirts that I thought it should be aimed at the FA, at Uefa, at Fifa – the people who actually make the decisions. | Clarke Carlisle, the Northampton Town defender and PFA chairman, says: "I didn't agree with the T-shirt protests at the time. I wore mine because I thought Kick It Out was the wrong target. I told those players who weren't going to wear their T-shirts that I thought it should be aimed at the FA, at Uefa, at Fifa – the people who actually make the decisions. |
| "But what came back to me was that players felt they didn't have the outlet to make their point and this was their opportunity. So when the explanation did come, people like myself had to acknowledge they'd made a very good point. It brought a lot of attention to what was happening and almost forced the hands of the PFA, the FA, of Kick It Out and subsequently the government to take a real forensic look at how they were addressing the issue." | "But what came back to me was that players felt they didn't have the outlet to make their point and this was their opportunity. So when the explanation did come, people like myself had to acknowledge they'd made a very good point. It brought a lot of attention to what was happening and almost forced the hands of the PFA, the FA, of Kick It Out and subsequently the government to take a real forensic look at how they were addressing the issue." |
| Garth Crooks, the former Tottenham Hotspur striker turned broadcaster and campaigner, believes the protests were a "seminal moment" and a long overdue cry of frustration. He wants to see more players speak out. "If you're a professional footballer, black or white, and you want to see the sport change for the better as far as race is concerned then put up or shut up," he says. "Black players have a great opportunity to change the game today. And their silence is not helping the process, it's inhibiting it. If you say nothing, you make things worse. Stand up, speak up or shut up." | Garth Crooks, the former Tottenham Hotspur striker turned broadcaster and campaigner, believes the protests were a "seminal moment" and a long overdue cry of frustration. He wants to see more players speak out. "If you're a professional footballer, black or white, and you want to see the sport change for the better as far as race is concerned then put up or shut up," he says. "Black players have a great opportunity to change the game today. And their silence is not helping the process, it's inhibiting it. If you say nothing, you make things worse. Stand up, speak up or shut up." |
| Clarke says the PFA's structure has been reshaped to enable it to respond better to the concerns of current players. "It will make us more dynamic and allow us to react far more incisively to an issue that has evolved," he says. "The issue of racism has evolved dramatically since the 1970s. We're not tackling the same facets that we were back then." | Clarke says the PFA's structure has been reshaped to enable it to respond better to the concerns of current players. "It will make us more dynamic and allow us to react far more incisively to an issue that has evolved," he says. "The issue of racism has evolved dramatically since the 1970s. We're not tackling the same facets that we were back then." |
| Kick It Out is developing a new players' panel and Andy Cole and Jason Euell have expressed an interest in being involved. | Kick It Out is developing a new players' panel and Andy Cole and Jason Euell have expressed an interest in being involved. |
| Chief among the concerns of those who protested was the feeling that a "generation gap" had emerged between the players who fought the brutal prejudice of the 1970s and 1980s and those today facing new battles for recognition as managers, coaches and administrators at all levels of the game. | Chief among the concerns of those who protested was the feeling that a "generation gap" had emerged between the players who fought the brutal prejudice of the 1970s and 1980s and those today facing new battles for recognition as managers, coaches and administrators at all levels of the game. |
| "The big problem we've got is dressing-room culture," says Kick It Out's chairman, Lord Ouseley. "People put up with a lot and you'd never know. No one actually challenges that culture. | "The big problem we've got is dressing-room culture," says Kick It Out's chairman, Lord Ouseley. "People put up with a lot and you'd never know. No one actually challenges that culture. |
| "I think we've still got a problem with the way overall authorities run football. They pay lip service to the fact they support Kick It Out and other initiatives. That is great and we're able to make a limited contribution. But it's not enough. We have to get personal leadership at club level. One of the biggest problems in all of this is that the clubs take no responsibility. They defend the indefensible," he adds, still stung by Liverpool's behaviour during the Suárez affair, by Chelsea's backing for Terry, by the intervention of Roy Hodgson. | "I think we've still got a problem with the way overall authorities run football. They pay lip service to the fact they support Kick It Out and other initiatives. That is great and we're able to make a limited contribution. But it's not enough. We have to get personal leadership at club level. One of the biggest problems in all of this is that the clubs take no responsibility. They defend the indefensible," he adds, still stung by Liverpool's behaviour during the Suárez affair, by Chelsea's backing for Terry, by the intervention of Roy Hodgson. |
| "We needed to clear the decks. The FA needed to make clear what happened, why it happened and set the tone to move forward. To this day, we haven't purged ourselves of the errors of that." | "We needed to clear the decks. The FA needed to make clear what happened, why it happened and set the tone to move forward. To this day, we haven't purged ourselves of the errors of that." |
| He was speaking on the sidelines of Kick It Out's Raise Your Game conference, where 200 young people were being matched with mentors from throughout the game. It is the sort of thing that the organisation wants to do more of but it is also pulled together on an impossibly tight budget. Nor can it fund research into just how wide the problem is or expand meaningfully into the Football League or Conference. Then there are other forms of discrimination – sexism, homophobia, antisemitism – to consider. "The organisation is working with the same resources and yet it has all these new facets to its work," says Carlisle. "It needs the funds, it needs the person power to go out and do all these things." | He was speaking on the sidelines of Kick It Out's Raise Your Game conference, where 200 young people were being matched with mentors from throughout the game. It is the sort of thing that the organisation wants to do more of but it is also pulled together on an impossibly tight budget. Nor can it fund research into just how wide the problem is or expand meaningfully into the Football League or Conference. Then there are other forms of discrimination – sexism, homophobia, antisemitism – to consider. "The organisation is working with the same resources and yet it has all these new facets to its work," says Carlisle. "It needs the funds, it needs the person power to go out and do all these things." |
| In the past six months the issue has barely been out of the news, from the depressing "bonfire song" affair to the decision of the USA international Robbie Rogers to quit the game rather than remain in it as a gay man. There are signs of progress amid the gloom and Ouseley says it also right to remember how far football has come. | In the past six months the issue has barely been out of the news, from the depressing "bonfire song" affair to the decision of the USA international Robbie Rogers to quit the game rather than remain in it as a gay man. There are signs of progress amid the gloom and Ouseley says it also right to remember how far football has come. |
| In the wake of a government summit, the FA has produced a typically verbose 92-point plan, including a commitment to a 10% minimum quota for coaches and referees from ethnic minorities and a vow to use St George's Park as a catalyst for change, which has been given a cautious welcome by most. | In the wake of a government summit, the FA has produced a typically verbose 92-point plan, including a commitment to a 10% minimum quota for coaches and referees from ethnic minorities and a vow to use St George's Park as a catalyst for change, which has been given a cautious welcome by most. |
| But Ouseley – who quit the FA council in frustration at the glacial pace of change – remains profoundly concerned that until English football's dysfunctional governance structure is reformed, and the cultures within clubs, the FA and the Premier League transformed from the top down, real progress will remain slow. "Right now, we're in a bit of a state of limbo," he says. "The FA produced a 92-point plan, which could have been reduced to about six main points and should have been implemented already. What we need is a clear idea of how to move on. | But Ouseley – who quit the FA council in frustration at the glacial pace of change – remains profoundly concerned that until English football's dysfunctional governance structure is reformed, and the cultures within clubs, the FA and the Premier League transformed from the top down, real progress will remain slow. "Right now, we're in a bit of a state of limbo," he says. "The FA produced a 92-point plan, which could have been reduced to about six main points and should have been implemented already. What we need is a clear idea of how to move on. |
| "If those groups of players feel there is insufficient progress in visibly seeing more black people in prominent positions as coaches and managers, and other opportunities in football, those grievances might well surface again."The approach of the incoming FA chairman, Greg Dyke, who famously called the BBC "hideously white" as part of a proactive attempt to change the culture there, will be key. | "If those groups of players feel there is insufficient progress in visibly seeing more black people in prominent positions as coaches and managers, and other opportunities in football, those grievances might well surface again."The approach of the incoming FA chairman, Greg Dyke, who famously called the BBC "hideously white" as part of a proactive attempt to change the culture there, will be key. |
| Robertson, while welcoming the progress made since the catalyst of the T-shirt protests, agrees: "This is also an issue tied up with the wider governance of the game in general. You maybe wouldn't need more funding for Kick It Out if there were more black faces on the Council, on the board and involved in the running of the game." | Robertson, while welcoming the progress made since the catalyst of the T-shirt protests, agrees: "This is also an issue tied up with the wider governance of the game in general. You maybe wouldn't need more funding for Kick It Out if there were more black faces on the Council, on the board and involved in the running of the game." |
| Yet while progress on wider reform remains frustratingly, teeth-grindingly slow, in the here and now it seems incongruous that amid wide support for the job done by Kick It Out and clear agreement that discrimination in all its guises - on the pitch, in the stands and at grassroots level - remains a major issue, that a sport about to bank £5.5bn in TV cash over the next three years cannot afford to properly fund efforts to fight it. | Yet while progress on wider reform remains frustratingly, teeth-grindingly slow, in the here and now it seems incongruous that amid wide support for the job done by Kick It Out and clear agreement that discrimination in all its guises - on the pitch, in the stands and at grassroots level - remains a major issue, that a sport about to bank £5.5bn in TV cash over the next three years cannot afford to properly fund efforts to fight it. |
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