‘Order was restored,’ said the police, but only because they were forced to retreat during England’s World Cup qualifierWe came for the football. What we got, with the anthems still fresh, was 10 minutes of violent culture clash in the Wembley seats. This was a tableau of viciousness played out via the fists of Hungary’s travelling ultras and what looked, at times, like a lone Metropolitan police officer waving his (massively outgunned) baton of liberal justice.Ultra-nationalist football thugs versus the Met. And it’s live! It was a dismal, toxic, at times surreal night at Wembley Stadium. At 7.45pm England’s players kicked off this Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier to the usual hopeful, tinny cheers. By 7.48pm, the first fists were...
The football authorities have a duty of care to protect the players and Fifa failed with its risk assessment of the gameOne of the many sad things about what unfolded during England’s game in Hungary on Thursday is that it was completely preventable. We knew at Kick It Out there was a high risk of racism and disorder, so Fifa must have known too, but nothing was done to prevent it.So we find ourselves with victims, when there didn’t need to be victims, and we are talking about sanctions when the solution was to put adequate prevention in place. It’s laughable that the stadium ban imposed by Uefa for the discriminatory behaviour of Hungary fans at Euro 2020 did not...
As drama plays out on the field, the experience of Azeem Rafiq highlights a glaring failure to combat institutional racismFailure tastes like the bathroom floor after a night out. It floods like a blush from the ears to the fingertips, sending you burrowing for sanctuary. It haunts, pouncing in the night. But what turns misfortune into something far worse? What if it is just the vagaries of luck? A momentary lapse of concentration? Who decides what, and who has failed?Is failure winning the toss – at last – in overcast conditions at Headingley and choosing to bat, and then being bowled out for 78, India’s ninth-lowest total in history? Continue reading...
As drama plays out on the field, the experience of Azeem Rafiq highlights a glaring failure to combat institutional racismFailure tastes like the bathroom floor after a night out. It floods like a blush from the ears to the fingertips, sending you burrowing for sanctuary. It haunts, pouncing in the night. But what turns misfortune into something far worse? What if it is just the vagaries of luck? A momentary lapse of concentration? Who decides what, and who, has failed? Related: England’s cricketers privately query £2.1m bonus for ECB executives Related: Azeem Rafiq: ‘It brings back a lot of hurt to be around cricket people’ Continue reading...
The government did not back England players when fans booed them for taking the knee and now face the consequencesSo, as the prime minister has learned, a week is a long time in football. He and Priti Patel began it grinning in their crisp new England shirts, seeking kudos for their politics from a triumph in Europe just months after they took Britain out of the EU. Instead, the racist abuse that rained on England’s young black players following defeat on penalties on Sunday meant Johnson and Patel were finally confronted with consequences of the green light they gave to racism before the tournament started.One senior football figure told me there was “deep outrage” in the game about Johnson and...