Recently there have been several incidents of racial abuse in football.

England fans will be aware of the problems in Sofia when the Bulgaria game was nearly abandoned. Serbia have also been informed that their next home game will be behind closed doors, due the racist behavior of their fans. But closer to home the FA Cup tie at Haringey Borough was abandoned and subsequently two Yeovil fans in the west country have been arrested.  There was also an incident at Luton, over last weekend, when Bristol City fans are alleged to have used racist language. And there was also an incident at Hartlepool United recently.

It is hard to understand how this can be happening in our multicultural society today. I personally don’t believe that the nationalist politics, that are creeping into the UK and many other parts of Europe, is helping. I think we should remember we are members of the Human Race, whichever part of Earth you originate. I have been a surgeon for nearly 40 years and to date I have not found any difference under the skin, whatever background you come from. The ONLY difference is our skin colour. Hospitals don’t have different implants and prostheses for white Caucasians and black Africans, for example. All humans have the same anatomy. The bones, joints, muscles and tendons are all identical, whatever our skin colour. I think we need to remember you cannot identify a British resident by their skin colour, only with their birth certificate or passport. 

“Coloured” is a term used in the UK as an alternative to more derogatory names for visible minority ethnic. This usage is now out-dated, though it is a term that is still fairly commonly employed, but it shouldn’t be. The term tends to suggest that, in the user’s view, ‘colour’ is an attribute possessed by all skin types other than white and can therefore be used as an identifier for ‘non-white’ people. Today such usage tends to cause offence, or, at best, to indicate a naive or patronising approach in our multi-ethnic environment. White as far as I know is also a colour. Please stop using the word coloured to describe skin type.

We should also consider cultural racism, which occurs when a particular culture perceives itself as superior to others.  An example is in the use of language as a way in which one cultural group can impose itself on another with discriminatory outcomes. In the UK it has often been argued that using words like “coloured”, “Paki” or “Chinky” is not discriminatory, as they are part of the British vernacular. Yet these terms are offensive and derogatory. However, challenging these terms in the UK continues to be met with resistance by some people, or the subject is treated as trivial.

So why is skin colour so important and of any relevance to modern society in Britain or anywhere in the world? The fact that we are still talking about racism at football matches in 2019 is a sad reflection on 21st century British society and what is actually important. We at the Hawks want to continue to take a stand on racism and kick it out. I am not aware of any such behaviour here in Havant but we must not be complacent and need to treat all in entirely the same way. Afterall we are all human.  

Tim Mellor

Vice Chairman