Game has a way to go

They had a black player in their team at the time, Paul Canoville, and referred to him in derogatory terms as the racial abuse spewed from their mouths.

I had to grip my wife’s hand tight and urge her not to react.

Hopelessly outnumbered, we were in no position to defend ourselves verbally or physically.

Thankfully, we disembarked before the thugs, but the incident left a very nasty taste in the mouth.

The memory returned when I awoke on Wednesday morning to stories of a young black man being treated appallingly by Chelsea supporters on the Metro in Paris before a Champions League game.

I watched the footage and it was sickening to see and hear, but I wasn’t especially shocked. Why? Because football still has a long way to go in dealing with racism.

Progress has been made. A lot has been done by organisations such as Kick It Out and clubs like Albion, whose charitable arm Albion In The Community does so much good work to make the game a safe and welcoming environment for everyone, irrespective of race, religion, age or sexual preference.

At today’s match against Birmingham at the American Express Community Stadium the club is promoting Football v Homophobia, an annual international crusade to confront homophobia and prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the game.

Many of the top players are black, but Football v Racism will only have achieved the right result when Albion’s Chris Hughton does not stand out so obviously in a photograph of the 92 managers of England’s professional clubs.

Or when more black faces can be spotted in directors’ boxes and in the crowd in stadia across the country.

Andy Naylor – Argus chief sports reporter

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