The worst of society often emanates from football, whether on or off the pitch. What happened in Paris – the Chelsea football fans who prevented a black man from boarding a Metro train by twice pushing him off as he tried to enter - was just another painful reminder to English football and society at large of the enemy within. What happened on the Metro, which has been condemned by UK officials from David Cameron on down, as ugly as it was, was not totally surprising. Chelsea followers have acted in similar disgusting ways before – in Paris last year and in Belgium previously. And nor is racism restricted to England. In Russian clubs some of their fans throw bananas to non-white players and hold up offensive banners under the noses of quiescent police and officials. In Italy, they have taunted AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng. The Serbs abused an England Under-21 side in Krusevac and the Spanish in the Bernabeu stadium set off monkey chants aimed at Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole. But the detestable episode on the Paris Metro confirms that racism and some seriously misguided British fans are never too far apart. English football grappled with serious racism throughout the 1970s and 1980s, when black players were regularly subjected to verbal abuse by supporters. While that problem has eased, there have been a number of high-profile incidents involving players in recent years, most notably Chelsea's captain John Terry who was banned for four matches and fined $340,000 in 2012 for racially abusing an opponent. He retired from the England team as a result. The Metro incident is not only deeply shaming for Chelsea but shows that the moral high ground the English love to occupy is not as high as they and others might believe. However, English clubs have become stronger on tackling racism, and the FA runs important campaigns. But although plenty of work has been done to improve matters, much more is required. English football inexplicably still resists the implementation of a Rooney Rule which would allow more black coaches and managers access to the interviewing process for jobs. Racism lurks in some English boardrooms as well as on the terraces. The Paris incident highlighted how much still has to be done to fight discrimination in football. The English authorities cannot be complacent and think the actions they are taking are sufficient to deal with the scourge of racism. What happened should not be tolerated, in Paris or anywhere else, even if it happened outside a stadium. Football is not just about playing football but it is also about honoring values and respect. As footage of the shocking incident circulated on social media, Chelsea acted swiftly saying they would back “criminal action” against those engaged in such “abhorrent” behavior and would ban them. For life, it is to be hoped. Obviously the hope is that these so-called fans are identified and punished but football must not settle just for that. Such sanctions are, of course, essential, but racism will be properly confronted only through education and when there are repeated discussions at the primary school level about the evil of intolerance. Decision-makers have a collective responsibility to make sure the next generation is better educated about diversity, respect and fair treatment. Somebody said Chelsea fans had imposed apartheid in the Paris Metro. Nobody wants racism to become the norm in football.
