Brendon Batson fears racism in football will only get worse… and says it’s society’s problem to resolve
Brendon Batson fears the issue of racism in football is only going to get worse, but insists it is society’s problem to resolve.Batson was one of the leading pioneers in the 1970s who helped break down the racial barriers when he played for Arsenal, Cambridge United and West Brom.
4Brendon Batson has been saddened by the latest ugly high-profile incidents in football
4Batson, pictured playing for Arsenal, later became part of the famous Three Degrees at West Brom alongside Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham and helped break down barriers for black playersHowever, the PFA trustee has been saddened by the recent high-profile incidents which are putting a stain on the game.A fortnight ago a banana was thrown towards Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
after he scored a first-half penalty in their 4-2 win over arch-rivals Tottenham.Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling was then allegedly racially abused by a Chelsea fan.And speaking at the latest London Baggies event, Batson is not optimistic things are going to improve.He said: I was in Paris when the news broke.“It’s sad we are still having to talk about the issue of racism.Its not going to just go away, in fact I can only see it getting worse.“With that said I do think it’s an unfair burden on football it is primarily societys problem.”
4Raheem Sterling, left, was allegedly racially abused last Saturday at Stamford Bridge
4Blues fan Colin Wing (circled) claims he did not racially abuse Sterling, but has apologised for the words he did useBatson recalled the type of abuse he encountered not just on a football pitch, but even at school, on a daily basis as a youngster.He added: When I was growing up in Tilbury as a nine-year old I was called a chocolate drop.“I didn’t know what that meant initially, but one day I was called it at school and my siblings heard and all hell broke lose.For the next four years I was always fighting at school, as were my siblings, as we were constantly pelted with racist abuse – that was the norm.”While improvements have been made in society, and indeed football, in regards to the regularity and severity of the racism Batson and co endured, the 65-year-old believes there is increased hatred towards certain groups nowadays.He explained: I have family friends who get spat at and mocked over their head scarves, all because of their religion.That isn’t right and to be honest it’s a very worrying state of affairs.“Im very fearful of whats around the corner as things have got even worse over the last few years – both on and off the football pitch.Batson revealed his admiration for England forward Sterling for taking a stand – and says he wishes other people in authority in this country decided to tackle this issue head first and take the necessary action.I admire Raheem for taking a stand and saying enough is enough,” he commented.Its one mans word against another at the end of the day, so it will be hard to prove. “How do you go about proving something where the people in close proximity of this claim they didn’t hear anything?The fact is football isnt the answer to resolve this problem, it is societys issue.I dont think that these anti-racism campaigns, no matter how hard they persevere and the commendable work they do, change peoples views.They’ve got to want to change themselves.“Where are these politicians when it comes to all of this? They say nothing, which isn’t a surprise sadly.”
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