IN DECEMBER 2019, the latest of many racism controversies that have marred English football for decades took place.

In a shameful display of ignorance and stupidity, Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger was subjected to monkey chants during his side’s 2-0 win over Tottenham.

Then-Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe was subsequently asked about racism in football and how it can be resolved.

“It’s very sad to see that in any game, let alone a game of such high-profile nature,” Howe said, per the Bournemouth Echo.

“The exposure that will get is damaging for the game and very, very sad.

“I always come back to education and making sure we get the right information into the young people at schools and make sure people come through educated with regards to things like this.

“We don’t want to see it. We want to stamp it out of the game as quickly as possible.”

This was the correct response to what was an ignominious scene and one no reasonable-minded person could have disagreed with. Racism has no place in sport or any other aspect of society, and that is not a matter up for debate.

But consider a hypothetical scenario. Imagine instead of his laudable response, Howe had said: “I’m just going to answer questions on the game and on football… It’s only right that I stick to football.” 

Howe would have been rightly vilified. A refusal to condemn racism would have been perceived as an implicit acknowledgement of it.

Indeed, it is impossible to imagine any Premier League manager uttering that response — if a coach did, it would rightly result in the immediate termination of his contract.

Yet much of what Howe actually said in 2019 also could be applied to football’s close links with the Saudi Arabian government — an issue he has consistently chosen to stay silent on.

Over the weekend, it emerged that 81 people had been executed in one day in Saudi Arabia.

It was the latest disgraceful act from a country whose abysmal human rights record is as well-documented as its links to Newcastle.

On Sunday, meanwhile, Newcastle took on Chelsea in a Premier League game dubbed the ‘sportswashing derby’.

Co-owner Amanda Staveley and others associated with Newcastle have disputed the club’s links to Saudi Arabia, just as Roman Abramovich for years denied and actively suppressed claims of his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, the latter is now a matter of public record, hence the sanctioning of Chelsea.

After the game, whose scoreline felt incidental to the backdrop in which it occurred, Howe was asked about the aforementioned 81 executions by Tariq Panja of The New York Times.

His response? “I’m just going to answer questions on the game and on football,” Howe said. “It’s only right that I stick to football.”

It was far from an off-the-cuff reaction. The level of coverage devoted to the Newcastle-Saudi Arabia links has been impossible to ignore.

Premier League managers are invariably impeccably briefed by a club’s press team ahead of their media duties.

Howe would have known beforehand that the question would come up and had plenty of time to prepare for it, so it’s incredible to think that particular response is the best he could conjure.

Yet as risible as Howe’s reaction was, in a sense it is unfair to single him out for criticism.

After all, his words encapsulate the attitude of the vast majority in the football industry for years when it came to matters related to sportswashing.

Take one typical example. ITV’s coverage amid the opening game of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Host Mark Pougatch asked pundit Lee Dixon about the political situation in the country. Although the situation was not as overtly troubling as it is now, the response contained echoes of Howe’s sentiments: “Everyone is aware of what’s going on. But now it’s football’s time.”

Again, the intention is not to single out the ex-Arsenal defender for blame. You could have asked 100 football pundits for their thoughts on the matter, and unless their name was Eamon Dunphy, they likely would have come up with a similar answer.

Football, as an industry, has long been compromised by its intimate links to powerful regimes and autocrats.

With the notable exception of a few journalists who opened themselves up to abuse and potential libel action by speaking up, the sport has been conspicuously silent on these matters or has preferred to ‘stick to football’ as some would put it.

So why is poor old Eddie Howe getting such flak when he is merely mimicking the behaviour of so many?

Maybe, because in 2022, it no longer feels acceptable to turn a blind eye to sportswashing.

In 2003, when Abramovich took over Chelsea, ‘sportswashing’ was not a widely used term and there was at least a degree of ambiguity as to the oligarch’s exact intentions.

Last year, after the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle, states using football teams for political purposes was no longer a novel concept — after similar scenarios with Man City and PSG, it had in fact been normalised to a degree.

There was no more ambiguity — anyone with uncensored internet access would have no excuse for being unaware of the overriding intentions of such moves.

In the post-Abramovich era, other powerful people have become emboldened by the football industry and in particular, the Premier League’s sheer apathy with regard to regulation of its owners. 

Conversely, in the last two years especially, the power of football and its supporters as a force for good has been emphasised.

When plans for a European Super League were announced by an arrogant coterie of elite clubs, fans made their feelings known and the idea was quickly shelved.

When Boris Johnson’s Tory government initially ignored calls to extend free school meals to children from low-income families during school holidays in England, Man United star Marcus Rashford used his considerable influence to protest the decision and ultimately inspired a dramatic u-turn.

When Raith Rovers signed convicted rapist David Goodwillie, a mass outcry put the club under severe pressure until they eventually relented and announced that the player would not line out for the team.

When both Tottenham and Liverpool confirmed plans to furlough non-playing staff under a government scheme at the height of the pandemic, a fan backlash prompted both clubs to reverse their respective decisions.

Some in his position might have been tempted not to comment, but when Thomas Tuchel was recently asked about Chelsea fans singing Abramovich’s name during a recent match amid a minute’s applause for Ukrainian victims, his reaction was unequivocal: “We show respect, and we need our fans to commit to this minute of applause in the moment. We do it for the people of Ukraine and there is no second opinion about the situation. They have our thoughts and our support and we should stand together as a club.”

Football, therefore, has enough good people involved in it to take a stand against the atrocities and injustices that increasingly have become impossible to ignore.

Ireland internationals Devin Toner and Lindsay Peat were our guests for The Front Row’s special live event, in partnership with Guinness, this week. The panel chats through Ireland’s championship chances ahead of the final round of Guinness Six Nations matches, and members of the Emerald Warriors – Ireland’s first LGBT+ inclusive rugby team – also join us to talk about breaking down barriers in rugby. Click here to subscribe or listen below:

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