Once again what should have been another fascinating season in the EPL, consisting of headlines about the Manchester City millions, AVB at Chelsea and the return of the mercurial Paul Scholes, the problem of racism has reared its ugly head.
Racism has been prevalent in the soccer world for many years, but had gone quiet or so some thought until recently when recognized stars such as John Terry, Luis Suarez and the game leader Sepp Blatter all fell fowl of this negative slur. As many of the leaders and well known figures in the game have tirelessly tried to overcome racism through many different avenues such Racism: Kick it Out in England a small minority have done more harm in one season than the repair that has taken place over the past few years. As much as Sepp Blatter’s revelation that any player who felt affronted should settle it with a postgame handshake and Liverpool players quite openly supporting Luis Suarez after he had been charged by donning shirts in his support for a pregame warm up, the most recent and most hyped offense is that of John Terry and the fallout of his alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand. The most recent debate has been as to the scheduling of John Terry’s trial to beyond Euro 2012 and the debate of whether or not John Terry should be removed from the England captaincy.
In order to get a take on racism from inside the game I posed a few questions to Zesh Rehman, the former English Premier League player now plying his trade in the Hong Kong Premier League with Kithcee FC. In 2004, Zesh was the foucs of much media attention when he became the first British born Asian player to start a game in the English top flight for Fulham FC. Since 2004 Zesh has gone on to play for numerous teams such as Fulham, QPR and Norwich City to name a few, while also representing Pakistan nine times and becoming the first Pakistani International to play professionally in England, Thailand, and Hong Kong.
In order to get a deeper look at racism I posed the following questions to Rehman in a recent discussion:
In your thoughts are the recent high profile instances of racism a reemergence of the problem or are some players finally thinking enough is enough and starting to report what happens on the field?
I think it’s a mixture of past racism again rearing its ugly head as well as a combination of players speaking out against racism. The FA, PFA, Kick It Out and Show Racism The Red Card are all doing excellent work in raising the awareness by using positive role models.
What was your experience of racism both growing up as a youth player and as you broke in to the professional game?
I experienced racism at grass roots level and learned to block it out and not take it to heart because racism stems from ignorance and a lack of education. In the professional game I did not experience any racism by players but heard odd comments from opposing supporters. Again it’s not nice and not acceptable, but you cannot let it affect you.
Do you think enough has been done to help tackle the issue up until this point?
I think the governing bodies of the game are doing an excellent job, the level of racism now in comparison with what was regarded as acceptable in the 70s and 80s is nowhere near the same. The fact the English leagues has players from all over the world helps to educate fans of different backgrounds.
How is life in Hong Kong? What is the level of play and appetite for the game like out there?
I am loving life in Hong Kong, it’s a vibrant place with so much to do it’s impossible to get bored. The level is improving year on year and my club Kithcee is very much the template club in terms of infrastructure, professionalism, and quality. It’s a good time to be here as the love for the game is very evident.
As you can see from Rehman’s answers racism seems to be declining from what it was in the 70’s and 80’s and having personally experienced the work that the different organizations are doing from my time as a staff member at Middlesbrough Football Club it is becoming apparent that wholly the education of stamping out racism is having an effect and we cannot let these couple of incidents, albeit high profile ones, destroy the hard work that many people have put in over the past few years.
I am would like to put on record my thanks to Zesh Rehman for taking part in the interview and wish him all the best for the future in Hong Kong with Kithcee. Anyone interested in following Rehman’s career can do so on Twitter @Zesh_Rehman.
Follow the newest member of the ISN team, Andy Hoggarth, on Twitter @andyhoggarth.
