Sky Sports' Johnny Phillips: We’ve all let racists get away with it for too long

It was high up on the North Bank, during an underwhelming performance from a Wolves team that had spent the entire decade failing to get out of the Second Division.

They were losing at the time. Michael Gilkes was not playing any worse than the other players in old gold and black, but when he misplaced a pass one frustrated home supporter let rip. A torrent of vile racist abuse left his mouth, directed at the player. It was shocking.

Just a couple of fans in the row in front turned around, nobody else. ‘Hey, hey! That’s enough’.

The offender took note. He was allowed to carry on watching the match, though.

The second one was at Upton Park a couple of years ago.

West Ham were on their way to beating Tottenham Hotspur.

Nacer Chadli had just been substituted and, as the Spurs player made his way to the seats at the back of the away dugout, a Hammers fan rushed down the steps.

Face contorted in anger, full of that self-confidence and entitlement usually fuelled by a skin full of lager, or something stronger sniffed in the bogs.

He spat out a stream of racist invective towards the player. The other substitutes got up to remonstrate and the situation threatened to become more heated, before the stewards bundled away the offending fan, allowing him to return to his seat.

Two horrible incidents. The common denominator? I was there on both occasions – once as a supporter and later in a working capacity. I witnessed both incidents, but did not do anything about either one.

It was simpler to ignore. Pretend it did not happen. That was the easier option. That was the cowardly choice.

Confronting bigotry in person is difficult. I’m not the only one who struggles to pluck up the courage to act. Those two incidents alone were heard by tens, maybe even hundreds, of people.

On both occasions the offending fan was allowed to remain in his seat and watch the rest of the game despite committing a criminal offence. The stewards did nothing either. Who is to say both fans did not repeat their behaviour?

After all, it had gone largely unchecked, so what further endorsement of their distorted views did they need?

They are just two of the moments that remain most vivid in the memory, but they are certainly not the only ones. During many years supporting a team and working in the industry, there has been racism around me.

I have heard racist chants or racist views at football in just about every part of the country the game has taken me to. It was worse as a kid in the Eighties, when whole sections of a crowd could occasionally be heard chanting racist abuse. But it is still here today. And it is not just in the stadiums. That does not even tell half the story.

Pubs, trains, high streets. Quite often it is the environment away from the match that leads to the worst behaviour. Out to shock, when it is the non-football goers caught up in the crossfire.

The footage of Chelsea fans who pushed a black man off the Paris Metro, while singing “We’re racist, we’re racist, and that’s the way we like it”, will have struck a chord with many supporters who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour away from the match.

Racism is not just football’s problem. Like so many ills, football just holds up a mirror to society. Sadly, it is at the forefront of modern life.

The political age of Trump and Brexit has emboldened those who hold racist views. The Home Office reported a spike of almost one third in hate crime in this country following the referendum vote. That is indisputable. So it is only natural that there will be an increase of racist incidents in football if it is on the rise in society.

Following the images from Chelsea’s match against Manchester City last Saturday, Raheem Sterling has courageously opened the debate.

In America, it was black sportsmen who did the same. When the San Francisco 49ers quarter-back Colin Kaepernick chose not to stand during the playing of the national anthem ahead of an American football match it brought black oppression into the spotlight. Let us hope, in this country, the outrage is not a passing fad but is deep-rooted enough to remain on the agenda long enough to be a force for change.

And, like supporters in the stands who turn a blind eye, the media has been complicit in this too.

As certain outlets – we all know which ones – peddle agendas that are racist, every other media organisation has ignored the inconvenient truth of the problem.

Thankfully, one journalist took it upon himself to share what he saw on television last weekend. And, essentially because the victimised player spoke out, the wider media have decided it is a story worth pursuing.

How do those, like myself, who have not confronted it find a way of challenging this abhorrent behaviour. What if it makes the situation worse? What if young children are present, is it fair to expose them to a confrontation?

As Mark Twain pointed out, never argue with an idiot – they will drag you down and beat you with experience. But something must change.

I hope the seeds of self-policing have been sown with this week’s story.

There are many fine examples of fans working together to tackle problems that, like racism, do not just belong to football. In the cities of Newcastle and Liverpool the fans’ foodbank collections at all home matches around St James’ Park, Goodison Park and Anfield support those who are being ignored by the institutions of power whose job it is to protect them. Supporters have taken a lead to improve their own communities.

After a week of soul-searching in our game, maybe the next time an ignorant bigot spills forth his hateful views a few more of us will pluck up the courage to act, to challenge it, to report it.

Finding that courage can be the hardest thing of all.

Raheem Sterling did, and for that he deserves our admiration.