Kick racism out of football

Very disappointing to see that "White Lives Matter" banner flown by some so-called Burnley fans at Man City — and also on certain West Ham sites there have been a few Herberts who have expressed similar sentiments. That "White Lives Matter" phrase was thought up by neo-Nazi white supremacists — the sort of people many fans' parents and grandparents fought against in the second world war. The #blacklivesmatter movement isn't about politics, it's simple humanity. We are all equal. 

As a kid I grew up watching Pele at the 1970 World Cup and then Clyde Best at West Ham and seeing those players certainly made me question my own family's views on Empire and race. I remember what Clyde had to go through both from opposition fans and the 'banter' from his own fans. He recounted some of this in his book The Acid Test and it was great to meet him at his Newham Bookshop signing. As he said the ball doesn't recognise any colour. 

West Ham have had many great and not-so great black players since then, George Parris, Rio Ferdinand, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson, Bobby Zamora, Dimitri Payet, Michail Antonio and many more. So I'm proud to see Premier League footballers take the knee. Taking a stand against the murder of innocent people shouldn't be too hard for anyone to tolerate.