Kick It Out's 25th Anniversary
The Kick It Out campaign marked its 25th anniversary this week but according to a leading employment lawyer, there is still a lot of work to be done to tackle racism in football.
A 25 second screen change on Sky Sports from colour to mono while the teams walked onto the pitch ahead of this week's England’s friendly football match against Switzerland served as a timely reminder for Kick It Out’s achievements. However according to Shah Qureshi, an employment partner at Irwin Mitchell, the FA must tackle the lack of diversity at the top levels of coaching and management.
Kick It Out began in the 90s when players, fans and cubs got together to try to get rid of racism in football. It was founded by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) and the Commission for Racial Equality. Racism in football was at its height and BME fans and footballers were subjected to overt racism on match day every week. By 1997 Kick it Out had broadened its horizons to include all forms discrimination and exclusion including discriminatory behaviour on the grounds of religion, gender and sexual orientation.
Discrimination in football remains a problem with for players, fans and coaching staff who have been victimised for their race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.
Shah Qureshi, employment and professional discipline partner and youth football coach said:
Expert Opinion
"Although we no longer see the worst excesses of race discrimination on the terraces such as the throwing of bananas and monkey chants at black players, there is still a lot of work to be done. The mistreatment of black female footballers such as Eni Aluko is testament to this. The FA also needs to look at the lack of diversity at the top levels of coaching and management." Shah Qureshi - Partner