Shropshire Star

Marvin Morgan: Football’s failings on racism

Former Shrewsbury Town footballer Marvin Morgan has spoken about experiencing racism while playing for the Shropshire club – and believes the core problem is its existence in society.

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Morgan, now 35, was speaking about racism in football after two high profile cases in the Premier League in recent weeks.

Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had a banana thrown at him during a match with rivals Tottenham, before England and Manchester City star Raheem Sterling was subject to alleged racial abuse during a clash with Chelsea.

After that incident, Sterling claimed on social media that newspapers and media coverage helps 'fuel racism' of young, black footballers.

Morgan, who played for Shrewsbury Town between 2011 and 2013, revealed he and former team-mate Jermaine Grandison were on the receiving end of racial abuse earlier in their careers.

The striker, who still plays in non-league, said: "You have seen the banana thrown onto the pitch to Aubameyang and that happened to John Barnes back in the 80s.

Raheem Sterling

"You have seen what happened to Sterling at the weekend, this is in the space of two weeks. I remember when I was at Shrewsbury and me and Jermaine Grandison got racially abused at Hartlepool. That would have been five or six years ago, it is tough, it really is.

"As a footballer you can’t really say anything, If Sterling turned around and reacted and went to go for the geezer, everyone would be going for Sterling, saying he should know better.

"But if this was in the street and somebody came past you and called you a black **** and you swung for him, people would say he deserved it. You can’t win, it is a really sad time."

He continued: "How do you change it? I think John Barnes hit the nail on the head as well, when he said in an interview on ITV that it was society.

"Football is a 90-minute game, so for 90 minutes there is no racism and then everyone leaves the stadium and then they can be racist again?

Unjust

"It is a society thing, it’s upsetting, it is really upsetting. I think the media are to blame for a part."

Morgan argued that Sterling receives unjust negative attention from the media.

He suggested that, were Sterling white, he would be the subject of fewer front page headlines.

Morgan added: "Why isn’t Sterling idolised now by the media?

"He is England’s best player at this current time, like the PFA player-of-the-year, at this minute he is winning it now.

"He is a normal geezer, yes he is a multi-millionaire, so what? What has that got to do with it? I don’t even think of it like that, everyone who we deal with for the brand, white, black, pink, orange, purple, I don’t care what your colour is.

"What I have realised is that you are never going to change somebody overnight, if you are racist, you are racist.

"That is how I look at it. If it is in your four walls and you do it, so be it. But when you start coming out and saying stuff and doing stuff, that causes tension.

"Celebrities have to know better, like Piers Morgan, I just don’t get it. Tommy Robinson, Katie Hopkins, it gets to a point where enough is enough, just shut up."

Racism is damaging our game – Moore

Darren Moore

West Bromwich Albion boss Darren Moore believes both the sport and society at large is ‘nowhere near’ where it should be in tackling racism.

Moore – who this week went to a performance by Sandwell Academy pupils focusing on the lives and experiences of the Baggies’ ‘Three Degrees’ of Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson – says there is now a real opportunity to tackle the scourge of racism.

The Hawthorns boss was questioned in the wake of the alleged racist abuse suffered by Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling at the hands of Chelsea fans in last weekend’s Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.

Moore, when asked if society had become complacent about the fight against racism, admitted: “Probably. It shouldn’t be happening in this day and age. It’s highlighted we aren’t where we thought we were.

“We’re nowhere near. It’s brought us as a footballing world together and thinking that we need to do something about it.

“Supporters in the stand, if they hear things like that now, they’ll point out the cuplrits, let’s get them far away from our game, because it’s damaging our game.”

Speaking before he visited the school’s ‘Three Degrees’ show this week, he said: “I’m going to Sandwell School to look at 1978 when three famous black players played here, what they went through, I’m looking forward to seeing how the pupils deliver that. We’re talking 40 years on, how much have we moved on from that time?”