MPs ‘missed a chance’ in racism report

Published on 20/09/2012 01:53

A REPORT by MPs into racism in football has been criticised for failing to tackle the issue of the low number of black coaches and managers.

Piara Powar, the executive director of the European anti-
discrimination network Fare, says the review by the Commons’ culture, media and sport select committee has missed an opportunity.

The report called for greater diversity among coaches, but Mr Powar said there was no clear direction as to how this should be achieved. He believes English football should follow the lead of the National Football League in the United States, whose “Rooney rule” states that shortlists for head coach or senior management vacancies must contain at least one ethnic minority candidate.

“I think the committee has missed an opportunity,” he said. “There have been headline issues that English football has experienced over the last year, the Luis Suarez and John Terry cases, and those are very big issues that we need to deal with.

“But the report had no clear direction on diversity hiring practices. We now have less racism in football because people respect the achievements of black players, but where is their role in the game as coaches and managers?”