As a junior football club, we do not accept hate crime or discrimination in any form and if it does happen it should be reported to the police quickly and in confidence. If you witness it and don’t report it, you are part of the problem.

Behnam Khazaeli, part of our executive committee shares his experiences of hate crime within football which he has experienced and witnessed. It is an eye-opening read and Behnam hopes that by telling his story it will help reduce the fear around reporting hate crime.

Football has a unique power to change the lives of many people, and to create memories that can last a lifetime. It is therefore hugely important that the game is accessible, welcoming, and inclusive for all. As we have recently seen the rise of the women’s game and the Lionesses winning the Euros united a nation and we are now seeing more girls playing football as a result.

My experience as a player when I was younger in the 1980’s was very different, whilst football gave me the opportunity to play football and integrate with friends, I found out at a very young age that racism was part and parcel of the game and at that time accepted and not challenged. Whilst football gave me great memories and opportunities it also reflected the culture at the time where racism was present in grassroots football and society and widely accepted. This also showed me the dark side of football (society) as I was subjected to racism from opposition players and parents. This affected my confidence and mental health, but the love and passion of the game and the support of teammates kept me playing when I could have easily walked away.
Fast forward and I now coach both my daughter and son in their respective teams and society / culture has moved on and I haven’t lost the passion for the game and get enjoyment from coaching my kids and seeing players develop. The girl’s game is being promoted and more girls are taking up the game, disability football is now being looked at through the club I volunteer at, the FA have numerous campaigns like Respect etc…. Whilst this is all positive unfortunately racism still exists, maybe not in the way it was present and visible in the 1980’s but it still raises its ugly head unfortunately.
My son took part in an u13 game and scored two goals which ultimately ended up in his team winning the game but unfortunately was racially abused by a player for doing something he loves. As a dad I was proud that my son controlled his emotion and turned the other cheek, however at the end of the game he refused to shake the other team’s hand and walked off the pitch, being accused of not showing respect by the opposition coach who was aware that his players had been accused of racially abusing my son. We reported this as a hate crime and to the FA who investigated the issue. For the opposition they had undertake an equality and diversity awareness course and the club were monitored by the FA.
For my son it brought questions of “Why me?” “Why are they calling me? ….. and why has this happened again? (my son had also been racially abused whilst playing at under 12’s the previous season). At a young age he was also cynical about the FA and what action they would take after the incident from the year previously. It also stirred up emotions in myself and reminded me of what I had suffered playing football and something that I thought my son or daughter would never experience.
We subsequently found out that the team we played had been reported previously and racially abused another player the week after we played them as well. My message to anyone who suffers a hate crime, whatever that may be, is report it and get support. Hate crime in any form shouldn’t be tolerated and those who carry out a hate crime need to be educated and held to accountant for their behaviour.
For my son, he continues to play the game (much better than me) and was involved in promoting Show Racism the Red Card at the football club and got lots of support from players, parents and volunteers showing him the positive side of football, which as in life is sometimes spoilt by the minority. As Angela Davis said:
“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist”.
As a junior football club, we will be supporting Show Racism the Red Card and Wear Red Day for 2022. Friday the 21st of October 2022 is the date for this year’s Wear Red Day! We would encourage all supporters of the club to wear something red next Friday in support of Show Racism the Red Card. The day is an opportunity to wear red in support of calling racism out.

Keep an eye out as our teams across the age group show support. Wear Red Day is organised by Show Racism the Red Card every year and aims to spread a message of positivity, tolerance, and anti-racism.