Racism In Football

This book explores the key issues of racism, anti-racism and identity in British football. It relates the history of black players in the game, analyses the racism they have experienced, and evaluates the efficacy of anti-racist campaigns. The efficacy of the policing of racism is also assessed. The nationalism and xenophobia evident in much of the media's coverage of major tournaments is highlighted in the context of the way that English, Scottish and Welsh identities are constructed within British football.

This study provides an account of the role of race, nation and identity within contemporary football cultures. Focused on four clubs, this work shows how different clubs understand and experience race in different ways.

Racism and English Football: For Club and Country analyses the contemporary manifestations, outcomes and implications of the fractious relationship between English professional football and race. Racism, we were told, had disappeared from English football. It was relegated to a distant past, and displaced onto other European countries. When its appearance could not be denied, it was said to have reappeared. This book reveals that this was not true. Racism did not go away and did not return. It was here all along. The book argues that racism is firmly embedded and historically rooted in the game’s structures, cultures and institutions, and operates as a form of systemic discrimination. It addresses the ways that racism has tainted English football, and the manner in which football has, in turn, influenced racial meanings and formations in wider society. Equally, it explores how football has facilitated forms of occupational multiculture, black player activism and progressive fan politics that resist divisive social phenomena and offer a degree of hope for an alternative future. Focusing on a diverse range of topics, in men’s and women’s football, at club and international level, Racism and English Football extends and expands our knowledge of how racism occurs and, critically, how it can be challenged. This is an essential read for scholars and students working on race, ethnicity, sport and popular culture, together with those interested in the social and organisational dynamics of English professional football more generally.

European societies have long been tarnished by racial discrimination, and the game of football is no exception. With immigrants arriving from former colonies, European Union member-states, and third-world countries, integration in these two societies has been ascribed significance across the continent. Considering that the conduct of football fans in stadiums reflects_to a certain extent_society as a whole, this book examines the impact of racism upon the popular game. Anti-Racism in European Football provides a critical assessment of the campaigns and related policies of organizations that work to understand racism in football. It explores what has been achieved by the organizations' campaigns, the problems they encountered, and how these were overcome. In its focus on the work that anti-racism organizations carry out, this book's original contributions should appeal to professionals in football-related NGOs, and students and scholars working in social science fields related to racism and sport.

European Football is Black and White offers an engaging interpretation of a disturbing phenomenon in Europe's favorite sport: football violence fueled by racism. While many fans across Europe have used football to further destructive, ethnocentric agendas, there are also Europe-wide initiatives in the football stadium to combat the almost endemic problem. Christos Kassimeris analyses political ideologies that have influenced football supporters, drawing attention to the increasing politicization of football and the footballization of politics. He also considers the contributions of nationalism, social class, and media coverage before assessing attempts by various groups, from the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network to the European Union itself, to rectify the problem. Ultimately, football needs to be dissociated from both racism and politics for the sport to flourish. Unlike more traditional attempts to explain the football violence and racism, this book seeks to establish a Europe-wide as well as national explanatory framework for this racism from a political perspective. This study will draw the interest not only of scholars across the Humanities and Social Sciences, but also of ordinary football supporters.

As the first African American player to be drafted by the NFL and the first African American to play quarterback, George Taliaferro was a trailblazer whose athletic prowess earned him accolades throughout his football career. Instrumental in leading Indiana University to an undefeated season and undisputed Big Ten championship in 1945, Taliaferro was a star when many major universities had no black players on their rosters and others were stacking black players behind white starters. George Taliaferro would later rack up impressive statistics while playing professionally for the New York Yanks, Dallas Texans, Baltimore Colts, and Philadelphia Eagles. His athletic prowess did little to prevent him from facing segregation and discrimination on a daily basis, but his popularity as an athlete also gave him a platform. Playing professionally gave Taliaferro more opportunity to use football to fight oppression and to interact with other important trailblazers, like Joe Louis, Nat King Cole, Muhammad Ali, and Congressman John Lewis. Race and Football in America tells Taliaferro's story and profiles the experiences of other athletes of color who were recognized for their athleticism yet oppressed for their skin color, as they fought (and continue to fight) for equal rights and opportunities. Together these stories provide an insightful portrait of race in America.

This study, based on government records, newspaper articles and fanzines, explores the complex interaction between politicians, police and the perpetrators of football violence. Bebber looks at how successive governments tried to impose law and order on football ‘hooligans’, whilst inadvertently escalating the violence.

Elucidating the linkages between race, ethnicity, gender and masculinity in football, this volume addresses topics such as the experience of Muslim players, recruitment of African players, devolution and national identities, minority ethnic clubs, "mixed-race" players, sectarianism, and foreign club ownership.