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Racism In Football


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The majority of footballers do put their name, faces and money to schemes to help people, it just isn't very ideal to shout it from the rooftops.

If player made public evertime he gave a cheque to a good cause, people would criticise him for being in it for themselves, so they say nothing and people assume nothing happens, lose lose tbh,

But I get the sentiment being pushed here.

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Jason Roberts has again refused to wear a T-shirt in support of the anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out this weekend, but gave his tentative support to the Professional Footballers' Association six-point plan designed to eradicate the problem within the game.

The Reading striker was one of a number of black players, who also included Anton and Rio Ferdinand, who boycotted the awareness campaign by opting not to wear the T-shirts in the warm-up before their respective Premier League matches.

Roberts is a Kick It Out ambassador, but has become dismayed at what he sees as the football authorities' failure to come down hard on those found guilty of racism. For that reason he will not wear the shirt again on Saturday before Reading host Fulham.

"No, I won't ā€“ that's my own choice. If it was a T-shirt from another organisation I wouldn't have worn that either. This is not an attack on Kick It Out. I am passionate about the PFA and Kick It Out but they have to do better, we have to do better.

"When we have implemented changes, when we are acting and things are being done, I will be the first person wearing a shirt and driving up and down the country again in my car speaking to kids about this."

The PFA's six-point plan includes the possible implementation of the Rooney Rule ā€“ an initiative established in the United States which requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching positions.

Roberts thinks the rule is a good idea given the game's recent troubles. "I think last year shone a light on the racism issue," Roberts said. "I think things could have been handled better from everyone. As a result of that people are looking at the issue and the wider issue, not specific instances.

"I think one of the issues is the employment side of things. There are issues and solutions, like the Rooney Rule, and I think it's a step in the right direction."

Roberts also gave his backing to the PFA's idea that any player who is found guilty of racism should be sacked, regardless of their worth. He said: "I would agree with that point. You would think that something like that would already be written in.

"It just shows that we are reacting and not being proactive. That is something I believe the majority of people would believe in and I am quite surprised it's not been in there already."

The Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson condemned Roberts for refusing to wear a Kick It Out T-shirt ahead of Reading's loss to Liverpool, but the Reading manager Brian McDermott offered his 34-year-old striker his support.

"I'm proud of him," McDermott said. "I think what Jason has done has definitely helped. This hasn't been disruptive to us. It has brought it to a lot of people's attention.

"People put T-shirts and badges on once a year, they do it the following year, and then the following year. Now things are starting to be done."

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The Serbian FA (FSS) has banned two of its Under-21 players for a year for their part in the mass brawl at the European Championship qualifier against England.

Nikola Ninkovic and Ognjen Mudrinski have been suspended from all national teams following the confrontations after the match in Krusevac, while two staff members, Srdjan Maksimovic and Andreja Milutinovic, have been suspended for two years.

An FSS statement said the decisions were reached "having reviewed the television footage of the incidents", with "all four having violated the FSS ethics and fair-play code".

The ruling comes a week after Serbia's FA appeared to post a video on YouTube aimed at discrediting the claim by England's Danny Rose that he was the victim of monkey chants from home supporters "every time" he touched the ball.

They had also accused Rose of acting in an "inappropriate" and "vulgar" manner after the full-back kicked the ball at the crowd in anger after the final whistle ā€“ for which he received a red card.

Uefa is still considering disciplinary action against both the English and Serbian associations over the "improper conduct" of both teams and the racist chanting by Serbian fans.

Tomislav Karadzic, the president of the Serbian FA, last week issued a qualified apology for his players' involvement in the post-match brawl, but maintained there had been no racist chanting.

"The Serbian people have never been, nor will be, racist," he said. "The crowd's reaction to the defeat should not be confused with one of the greatest evils of the modern era."

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Reading striker Jason Roberts would shake John Terry's hand, but raised eyebrows by refusing to say whether he thought the Chelsea skipper was a racist.

'I would, yeah,' Roberts said when asked whether he would shake Terry's hand.

If that was seen as a diplomatic move to try to reach out to Terry, what followed was far less forthcoming.

When asked whether he thought the 31-year-old was a racist, the straight-faced Roberts replied: 'I would shake his hand, definitely.'

When the question was asked again, the Granada-born forward again refused to answer it directly and merely repeated the words: 'I would shake his hand.'

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