Racism in football: Black players must unite

Anyone that has been forced to deal with racism knows that, more often than not, racist abuse is quickly followed by racial threats of violence.

Sadly, in the case of Queens Park Ranger's defender, Anton Ferdinand, the abuse has escalated not just to threats of violence but death threats too. Anton's crime: he was forced to respond to a complaint made by a member of the public about alleged racist abuse from England Captain John Terry. It was the second allegation of racial abuse in as many weeks - Manchester United captain Patrice Evra reported Liverpool player Luis Suarez to the Football Association for racial abuse.

Other former players such as Stan Collymore have also received racial threats of violence after writing about their own experiences of racial abuse. To deal with this and other chronic issues of race within the game, Black footballers must come together as never before in a unified voice demanding change.

These latest threats to Ferdinand and Collymore have sent shock waves across the footballing establishment, which has undoubtedly made significant progress in dealing with racism on the terraces that blighted the game for a generation. Ironically, the success of campaigns such as 'Kick Racism Out of Football' led many to believe racism and in particular racial abuse in football no longer existed.

However, the truth is that racial abuse on the terraces has diminished, particularly in the Premiership, but on the field things seem to be getting worse. Some have argued that one of the reasons we are witnessing more racial abuse on the field is the influx of Latin American and East European players, parts of the world which barely acknowledge racism, much less have plans to confront it.

But racial abuse on and off the terraces is just one part of the long-standing discriminatory factors being played out at top flight football. The other troubling side of football that has recently come to the fore, with no clear proposal for redress, has been the issue around the lack of Black managers and other key posts in top flight football. In the Premier League and Championship League, Black players make up 25% of all players.

Year on year this figure rises, with much of the talent being home grown, and yet shockingly there are no Black Premier League managers and only two in the Championship League. We are left therefore with a sport that on the field is 25% Black yet in all other areas of management - Directors, coaches and senior staff - it is virtually all white.

In recent months Brendon Batson, one of football's few senior Black figures, called for 'Rooney rule' to be implemented in English football. Nothing to do with Wayne Rooney, Rooney's rule comes from the USA where Dan Rooney - owner of NFL team the Pittsburgh Steelers - in 2003 addressed the lack of African American NFL coaches and managers by proposing that there be a Black candidate on every shortlist for a managerial post. Whilst Batson's bold plans got people in the game talking about the issue, that's all they have been doing.

Whilst on an individual level Batson, Ferdinand and Collymore have been brave to put their heads above the parapet and tell it like it is, racism in all its forms will not be addressed until Black players themselves come together, support one another and collectively demand big changes within the game. Anything less will result in fudging the issue.

The ideal of Black unity in football is nothing new. A number of Black players during the eighties discussed the idea. In the end they dismissed plans mainly because their numbers were not great and they were fearful of becoming alienated from their own team mates or being seen as troublesome by their managers. Today the difference is that they are in huge numbers and playing at the highest levels in all positions.

To get things started a dozen Black players - past and present - should convene a press conference with a set of demands to eradicate racism, both on the field and the terraces. Furthermore, they should demand a comprehensive plan which would include 'Rooney's rule' to ensure greater Black management in all areas and at all levels of the game.

With all that we have read in the press over the last few weeks, we know that now more than ever Black players must unite and lead the charge for change, otherwise the 'Beautiful game' is in danger of turning very ugly.

Simon Woolley