Kick it out

Goodison Park, 21 February 1988. Everton were playing host to local rivals Liverpool in the fifth round of the FA Cup, when England striker John Barnes – who’d joined the club from Watford the previous summer – back-heeled a banana off the pitch. Accompanied by chants of “Everton are white”, it wasn’t the first banana to be thrown at the only Black player gracing that game. Everton chairman Philip Carter disowned the offending supporters, branding them “scum”. Arguably Barnes had the last laugh, finishing his first season at Anfield with a champion’s medal and the accolade of being voted Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year. But John Barnes was not the first, or the last footballer in the UK to be on the receiving end of racist abuse. One of the earliest recorded incidents in England came in the 1930s and involved Everton’s own Dixie Dean. The Birkenhead-born centre-forward, who had a dark complexion, was subjected to racist comments as he walked off the pitch at half-time in a match in London. Dean reportedly punched the abuser, with a policeman then telling the latter he’d got what he deserved. No action was taken against the player. As the number of Black players in the English game grew, so did the problem. Stars like Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson – who formed a legendary trio at West Bromwich Albion in the 1980s – all faced abuse, including monkey chants and being pelted with bananas. In 1993, five y...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Article Magazine anti-racism Black history month black members challenging racism Source Type: news