News in 2006

06th October 2006

'I followed the mob and their racist chants'

John Beresford used to racially abuse black players as a fan, but he told Luke Edwards how professional football helped show him the error of his ways.

Like many white teenagers growing up in Britain's major towns and cities in the seventies and eighties John Beresford was on racism's frontline.

As a school pupil in Sheffield, Beresford (pictured above) shared a classroom with black friends, but when he went to watch his beloved Sheffield United he readily joined in the racists chants which plagued every black player on a visit to Bramall Lane.

Like so many of his peers, Beresford did not think he had anything personal against black people, he just joined in with the rest of the mob when they launched their vicious verbal abuse.

At times, he felt it was wrong, but it was only when he began to play football alongside black teammates that he learnt about the damage the mindless chants and jokes could have.

"I was asked to help Show Racism The Red Card when I was playing for Newcastle," reflects Beresford, who was one of the first players in the region to agree to help the campaign 10 years ago.

"I was asked whether I had any experience of racism in football and I said I did, that when I used to go to games as a teenager, I used to make monkey noises and I joined in the racist chants.

"It caused quite a stir at the time, but all the black teammates I had were just pleased I'd spoken about it. They knew I knew it was wrong, but it had helped highlight the issue.

"I'm not looking for a pat on the back, I'm not perfect, but I think the campaign has been so successful because white players have also spoken out against it. It's OK to have black players saying they've experienced this or that, but it helps when their white teammates come out and say how wrong it is.

"I had black friends at school, but I just followed the mob because I was at an impressionable age. I wasn't strong enough to say anything and I just went a long with it, like a lot of people did. It's the same with kids today.

"It's ignorance. I was still saying things like you 'stupid black so-andso' until I started playing for the England youth team and I shared a room with Darren Beckford. He called me a stupid little something and I said p*** off you black b******, or something similar.

"His face just dropped and he told me why it was wrong. Yes, I might just mean it as a joke, but for some people it isn't a joke, they are deadly serious. I was educated and that is what SRRC is all about."

Beresford, who now works as a pundit for Tyne Tees Television, is still a highly active member of the Show Racism The Red Card campaign and says it should take a huge amount of credit for helping to reduce racism in the region.

"The reason SRRC is so good is that it goes into schools," he explained. "It talks to them at an impressionable age and it uses football to take the message to them. I don't think there is a better vehicle to use because football is so big now, it's everywhere you look.

"I think there has been a massive improvement in the last 25 years, but there are still other forms of racism, such as anti-Muslim, to be fought against. Like most people I don't know much about Islam, I just know the basics.

"But for some people, they don't know much and all they see is that Muslims are terrorists and they believe that. It's ridiculous, but that is what some people believe because they don't know any better. If we can use some high-profile Muslim players, like Emre at Newcastle, it will have a major impact on young people as we have already shown with black players."

Source: The Journal