Video: John Barnes on Racism in Football

I've been reading all these comments. Just wanted to thank all of you for being so thoughtful and concerned; it always blows me away how civilized a discussion can be on a subject so touchy, and we manage to do it almost monthly, whether it's racism allegations or justice for the 96. I don't really have much to add to the discussion other than my dumb joke earlier, so without repeating what someone has already said, I agree with all of you. 

Thanks for the post, Noel. Depressing all 'round, though, w/ the exception of Barnes' surprisingly eloquent comments. Good to see you back in the posts, RT: all the best; YNWA.

Very civil of you Edward. Cheers man.

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Worth reading, can i just reiterate how disgusted I am by the public speakers on this issue, we have come to expect a different interpretation of the truth from our newspapers over many years, but the way that some of the anti-racist organisations have persistantly stood up in order to demonise one man ignoring all the available facts along the way is horrifying and has destroyed my faith in them.

I do not know that Luis Saurez is innocent but there is certainly no evidence to suggest that he is guilty of anything more than misunderstanding language and indeed there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that the F.A came to a verdict and then tailored their report to suit that verdict, and yet there is no doubt in the minds of people whose only responsibility is to help eradicate racism, when there is deep ambiguity in the F.A report.

I find myself on a side of a fence that I am deeply uncomfortable with, because it would seem that the truth is once again the first casualty

It's a very good digest of the FA report with direct quotes.  But yes, it's a distressing situation and a depressing time.

Here's hoping the club managers [and fans?] make a solid showing or statement prior to the cup game to try and defuse some of the tension.  

Despite everything, going forwards we have to remember this is about a game that is immensely enjoyable to a lot of us.  

All we can do is stand behind Luis and make sure he knows how much he's appreciated, regardless of the irresponsible FA report.

It just seems to be a different scandal each week. I am no longer going to comment on the Suarez/Evra case afterwards because it is just depressing now. The media's despicable actions and the FA making an example of Suarez to send a big 'fuck you' to Sepp Blatter and FIFA are more actions of an organisation that wish to hail their political agenda as opposed to their moral one.

The events at Oldham were unfortunate and no player should suffer racist abuse. However, I shall play devils advocate for a moment if I may. My argument is that if you are in the sporting world, one should develop a thick skin to fans taunts and chants. Even to this day sick chants are heard from terraces up and down the country. Players must be used to fans hurling abuse at them every week, whether it is verbally assaulting their families or whatever. I detest racism of any kind and I hope that this fan is banned from Anfield forever as well as charged by the police. My only fear is that I hope players don't come to Anfield and simply 'boy who cried wolf' a situation if they are not 100% sure it didn't happen...

Think I need to make a reply here: John Barnes, in that excellent interview, was very deliberate in stressing that his approach of ignoring the immense abuse was what worked for HIM, both as a player and as a human being, and that he was not willing to judge how anyone else would respond in a similar situation. Which is exactly right.

I'm against abuse of players. But there is a difference between a crowd booing as Rooney takes the pitch, for example, and a player getting insults thrown at him (or hey, her) that imply or outright state that they're subhuman. Saying that a thick skin is what's required is...really oversimplifying the issue, to put it mildly.

I am also against the abuse of players and racism is the lowest form of hatred. And like I said in my previous comment no player should receive racist abuse. But I think it is also fair to say that fans do a lot more than boo players.

My only concern is that I don't wish for Liverpool to become a club with a 'reputation' for racism. Which we all know isn't the case. When all clubs up and down the country also have to deal with this issue. Hopefully the much publicised issues with Tom Adeyemi and Stan Collymore on Twitter will act as a deterrent to finally kick racism out of our game.

John Barnes talks incredibly quickly.

**FILE UNDER: BLINDED BY THE LIGHT** 
- inspired by John Barnes (and i guess, John Lennon)

mission: "you'll never walk alone" sung to tom adeyemi.

goal: cheer the lad up AND try to at least understand the problem better.

work: fund and organize a delegation of LFC supporters (preferably scouser youth, red side only) to an oldham home match. need based? merit based? tbd. the 60.3km/37mile drive there (and the post-match rally?) could be spent on useful dialog on the racism issue. we might even get Piwar's crew to do a teach-in.  and a roaring YNWA (with on-point banners and such).

we'd have to work quickly, or it might become COA (corny on arrival). and the club couldn't be involved at all - strictly supporter - for similar reasons. but it could help kill the noise a little bit while maybe shedding some light. and it'd definitely help me fight off the feeling that our club is being victimized.  plus, if we're just kick(ing) racism out of football and back into our communities, we're just protecting marketing revenue.  our club has social justice in her dna, if we're not gonna lead on this issue, let's at least not leave it to Graham Taylor. 

so... i'd kick in a symbolic contribution ($5?, $18?, $23?) and help spread the word. i wonder how many other supporters worldwide might do the same (in whatever their currency) to make this happen. Kenny and the boys will have their hands full trying to get us back in the CL, seems like they could use a hand on this front. se puede/can do?

I agree with the person who said this could be a disaster waiting to happen for LFC. All it will take is one numptie to shout something stupid at Evra or to throw something onto the pitch.

I sincerely believe the club need to reach out to Man Utd and try and make a joint statement prior to the FA Cup tie encouraging fans of both clubs to behave well.
I personally find it sad being Scottish that Kenny and Ferguson get on so poorly especially given their very similar backgrounds.  There is a need for calm heads at this time which seems beyond both of them. 

Aunty Fergie is already basking in the smugness of perceived 'victory' in this situation. He snorted derisively as a reporter asked him about an LFC suggestion about conciliatory talks. Seems the club hadn't approached Man U before going public with the suggestion, so our least favourite Govan native was only too delighted to point out another embarrassing PR gaffe by LFC. It's hard to watch someone as divisive, self-serving and mealy-mouthed as Ferguson coming off better in some sort of media celebrity death-match with The King.

John Barnes reiterating something thateverybody seems to want to ignore, Liverpool Football club doesn't believe Patrice Evra.
Its not about whether we support racists, its about the fact that we believe that Evra lied.
Our press are a disgrace, papers that are happy to print myths about Muslims on a daily basis in order to sell newspapers suddenly scrabbling for the high moral ground on the issue of racism is an edifying sight and one that makes me sick to my stomach.

What is happening here is doing nothing to help racism, nor was it ever intended to, it is selling newspapers, providing political points for the F.A and polarizing opinion.

What is particularly galling is having people like Jason Roberts and Piara Powar stating as fact that Evra was abused seven times and quoting lines that are the word of one man as if they were set in tablets of stone, these men have a responsibility to the orgasnisations that they belong to, to be impartial and level headed but instead have shown themselves to be biased in the extreme.
Either they haven't read the 115 page report or they have chose to ignore its contents and accept its findings as absolute, acts that are iirresponsible and in this case unhelpful in forwarding the campaign to stop racism

Wow he put all of my jumbled thoughts about everything that happened into a clear and concise order. I often think how I wanna go back to 2005 and start watching Liverpool then but I think it would be pretty awesome if I could go back in a time machine and watch the Liverpool team of the 80s.

Terrible draw for us because of the PR risk. If someone yells something at Evra from the crowd, the FA may relegate us to the Championship.

Downing scores 1 goal and starts acting like a pimp.

I'll wax lyrical about Carra once he officially retires. For now, he's just another contract we need off the books.

Barnes is a lone voice of reason. LFC has a PR problem.

Can't believe Downing would assault anyone. If he went to strike a women he would most probably miss! Lets hope that is a bit of a nothing story.

As for John Barnes LEGEND. Wish we had a time machine to bring him into this team. A proper winger like Barnsey is just what we need.

Great video

JOHN BARNES. Had no idea he's as good of a speaker as a footballer. He's smoother than Barack Obama. Anyways. My all time favorite player. I was waiting for his name to pop up on the race issues of late. Liverpool's best player of any color. He can babysit my future children anytime. 

Barack Obama cheats by speaking 30 words per minute...John Barnes speaks 5000 words per minute and they're perfectly enunciated. I am in awe.

Just a heads up, he doesn't return phone calls about being the godparent for someone he's never met.

I've heard.

And he's got 8 kids, so babysitting would be a bit of a busman's holiday I reckon.

I haven't been on here for a while. Personal travails have compounded those of my beloved LFC to make me, frankly, disillusioned with football, life and people in general. Today, the situation is so embarrassingly grim that I feel the need to speak.

The continuing media frenzy surrounding Suarez and the club's position on the findings of the tribunal is now at a dangerous level. I have read the most vile and deplorable attacks on LFC and Kenny Dalglish by people who couldn't give a toss about the issue at hand. It has become a free-for-all of accusation and slander, justified by the worst kind of self-righteous, sanctimonious indignation from our friends in the London press.

Let me be clear. Initially, I was heartened, if uneasy, by the defiant stance the club had taken in defence of one of our own. I wanted to believe that it simply showed the certainty they felt about his innocence. Turns out my hope was in vain. Once the verdict emerged and the club accepted the ban grudgingly, things just got uglier. Irrespective of your take on the competence of LFC's approach to the whole thing, (and I think Kenny's loyalty to the LFC family and decency as a man may have blinded him a little) it clearly needs fixing for the club's reputation to recover.

The Adeyemi incident is just the start if the club is not careful here. Thus far, their response to THAT at least, has been correct. LFC have transparently co-operated with Oldham and The Merseyside Police and endeavoured to find the scumbag and identify him for the low-life he is. Today's statement is late but solid. 

What happens though, the next time? And if you think the scurrilous bastards from The S*%n and The Mi$%*or won't be sending gutter-press with an agenda to "find" the racist element at the heart of the club's support, well then you need to administer a swift wake-up slap to your jowl.

This is not a conspiracy theory of the kind that has blossomed on Twitter. This is not some "Aunty Fergie's Evil Empire is out to get us" tosh. This is already happening. 'Respectable' journalists like Holt and Maddock had passed judgement on the Liverpool fans within minutes of the final whistle, even as we waited with a twisted ball of angst in our chests to hear if our worst fears were to be realised. Today's Mirror ran with a 'Shut It Kenny' banner headline, purporting to know that the FA were about to punish the manager and club if there was any more of this criticism nonsense.

And then this morning we wake up to the sordid tale of Downing's night out back home and a whole new 'issue' to tarnish the club. I'm fucking sick of it. Presuming this story has legs, I don't want to see any defence or explanation emanating from Anfield. Let him take what's coming. It is time for some care and caution to replace the bluster and rage. Let some of the suits earn the huge money LFC pays them. Let's have some better advice for Kenny, a good man in a shit situation.

Let's see some dignity, for christ's sake. Remember that? It's what Kenny brought back to us and it's being pissed away by a combination of our own club's naivety, bullishness and a media delight in our continuing misfortune. Want to know what dignity looks and sounds like? Take a gander at Barnesy effortlessly fending off the Sky drone's attempts to get something 'inflammatory' out of him. Top man. As, despite some unfortunate recent decisions, is our Gaffer. Let's hope to Fowler he can lead us through this.

brother trev, my mellow. very sorry to hear about your troubles.  i'll (we'll) keep a good thought that they resolve with minimal damage. (and before we wake up to EXCLUSIVEs in the Mirror about Doni and his ostrich fighting racket).  your reppin' for dignity assures me that you'll find a way past current trials. 

and our man Barnsey gives me hope that as long as we're going to be talking about race/racism in football and society, we'll actually talk about it to useful effect.  or as buggin' out (from, Do The Right Thing) might say to any number of ousleys, or taylors, or dolts - "...why don't you know something you know something about!"

as for the PR issue, to my mind, the club have seen job 1 as being Suarez Relations, as in - let's not lose him over this farce. i'm ok with that. i share their confidence in LFC's ability to weather this tempest. on principles. and sweetly singing larks.  head up, boy-o!

I think you're right about the club's priority re. Suarez, brother jon. However, it's being portrayed as a cynical effort on the part of LFC to retain a prized asset and the club's outside chance of CL qualification. Mind you, if we started worrying about the portrayal of the club in the media...well, we wouldn't sleep to well. As you say, let's keep the chins up and focus on the "golden sky".

Trev, you were the first person to respond to one of my posts here on Liverpool Offside, so it is with some sadness that I hear of your recent travails. Keep the faith! and I hope things are improving for you.

John Barnes is the man!

Cheers Mike. Remember the last time Kenny was in charge, wearing a ludicrously over-sized match-coat and Barnesy was the best player in Europe? Those were the days, my friend... Seemed simpler then but I remember hearing John getting flak of a distinctly odious racist nature from oppo fans...plus ca change...

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John Barnes, back heeling a banana thrown by everton supporters. 

Scary shit. Just makes his performances even better.

And, of course, I hope that your disillusionment will soon transform into joy.

Thanks Lis, some footy-based joy for all of us who love the club would be a welcome change of pace

Indeed. I hope we can feel happy about winning our upcoming matches  instead of cringing at the headlines.

Don't ever stop posting.

There's lots of us feeling the pain RT, and can barely believe the idiotic extras the club has to now deal with.

Barnesy has had to deal with racism for a long time and is not stupid.  

The Mancs have been through the FA racism charge thing a couple of times so they know the ropes as far as this dysfunctional body goes (jees, even the original accusations weren't true).  

The FA also have their own agenda in the international governing body arena as they are now being derided at least privately there.

The support for Suarez is absolutely correct, believing Evra's story doesn't stand up to scrutiny as far as we've been able to see and the judgement report was so loaded to make 'probability' appear like fact that frankly, I was disgusted by it - and I'm not caucasian either.  

What we wouldn't have wanted is papers writing about splits in the squad or the club and whether Suarez was going to be sold or allowed to leave.

But you're so right - if the whole Liverpool family doesn't seriously pull together then it's going to blow up badly for the club, at least domestically.  

It just seems to be the kind of crazy times in so many areas right now that things cannot be left to chance.

Yeah, carefully does it for LFC from here on out Jonny...

Great words man.

aawwww...shucks, thanks Gally

steve.m.
Thanks John someone who finally talks some sense about all this mess that Liverpool are in. I have no doubt that what happened at the Oldham  match happens at other grounds.we have all seen it and it should be stamped out by outright life bans at their clubs.no messing about.The shocking abuse that footballers take from some of the fans is totally outragious you see it all the time on tv.
  The  stewards and police  should identify these people at the games and throw them out and people would soon get the message.Football should be something to enjoy not be spoilt by a mindless minority who ruinl it for every decent supporter.
Thanks again.

Great interview from Barnes, many would make a hash of an on the spot interview on such a charged subject or just speak in the most vague of generalisations.

Frustrating that the cup game comes around with Suarez banned, the mancs will take that as just and righteous and they will have some of their injured players back.
The draw was an interesting one because a lot of the PL teams stayed in the hat till near the end so I was expecting a few all PL clashes.

Still, at least the mancs are happily conceding goals.  Citeh did a great 2nd half today and so nearly earned a replay with a depleted squad (!) and 10 men on the field.  

The nonsense straight red for Kompany I think does us a favour however as he will be out against us on Wednesday.

As for Downing and his woman, if most parents were subject to public order controls then a lot of families would have to live in large specially built jails.  Hope it's much ado about nothing.

Well done on the Won't get fooled again reference (despite the idiot fan and Uncle  Stuey).

Man city said they will appeal on the Kompany red-card ; doesn't that mean that he can play on Wednesday?

With the Toures, Balotelli and Dzeko already out, this could look good for us.

Not sure, I think he already had a red from the last game too, not sure which comps it applies to.  Commentator spoke of 4 games, don't know what that was about.

Don't know if his red will be rescinded - last week the FA refused to rescind a red because they considered it 'an honest mistake by the ref' or some such nonsense.   

Kompany's tackle could easily be classed as dangerous/studs/diving in though I thought it was absolutely superb, well timed and very exactly carried out.

The FA are very proud that most decisions don't get reversed, they see that as a system that works well.  

Independent commentators see such a low rate of decision reversals as showing that something's wrong - you would apparently expect more appeals to succeed just from the law of averages and no system is that good.

But while they might be weaker on Wednesday without some key players, they were still seriously impressive in today's second half.  Very well organised, kept their shape and Lescott was so close to getting the equaliser.  

2 goals against United when down to 10 men is not to be sniffed at even against a questionable defence and un-established keeper.

Noone can take anything for granted right now, results, decisions are all over the place.  

I'm not a fan of our Stevie G playing a deep role, his natural style just favours being further forwards.  Felt like he was trying to force things too much on Friday as he tried correctly to pick up the pace.

Second straight red of the year gives you a 4 game ban rather than 3.

Finally someone who speaks sense.

Johnny b. legend.