Research on supporters and coaches suggest that not enough is being done to tackle discrimination across the game
Still the virus spreads, and with the speed and malignancy of a pandemic. To Brentford, where a fan was arrested on Saturday for allegedly racially abusing Derby’s Duane Holmes. And Nottingham, where Northampton players were subjected to appalling racist language near their hotel. On Twitter, meanwhile, a warmed petri dish in which the vilest views fester and multiply, Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha is called a “diving monkey” and the Wigan winger Nathan Byrne receives a message so offensive it is reported to the police.
And with each incident the clamour and question intensifies: is football doing enough? No, it’s not. Because for all the welcome words of condemnation, the fines and bans and diversity awareness-raising programmes, football fails every time a player speaks out about discrimination, or we hear language inside grounds that would normally lead to an arrest outside it.
Related: Wilfried Zaha calls out racist abuse as three clubs report new incidents
Related: Non-league player quits football as a result of racist abuse in cup final
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