Players Views

Jermaine Darlington

England

Did you experience racism when you were growing up?
Not really, but as a kid playing for Charlton, one of my first games was against Millwall, which back then, about 10 years ago, was very intimidating. As a player, when I'm on the pitch, I don't really hear anything from the crowd. Unfortunately that day I got an injury and had to come off the pitch. It was on the far side, so I had to walk around the pitch back to the dug-out, and that's when I really noticed how bad it was. It affected me pretty badly because, as a youngster coming from Hackney where its pretty multi-racial, you don't really get much of that. So it had a bit of an effect on me - that was probably the worst 100 metre walk of my life. But, you know, it helped me to become strong mentally, and made me get where I am today.

What advice would you give to a young person who experiences racial abuse?
The first thing I'd say is ignore it to a certain extent, as in don't react back. Tell someone, definitely tell someone, a senior who can point you in the right direction to handle it in a proper way.

Who were your role models when you were growing up?
Well, my favourite player was Pele. Obviously being Brazilian I didn't really see very much of him. In this country I'd say John Barnes because around the time I was old enough to really understand it, to understand the racism part, he got a lot of abuse, and it was impressive to me the way he handled it.

What do you think of the SRTRC campaign?
I think it's a great thing. Not just in football, but all over the world, racism should be abolished, and it takes everyone to do it, so I applaud it.

Trivia

Favourite film: It's an old film, 'Twelve Angry Men'
Favourite player: Pele
Team supported as a kid: Arsenal, in the days of Charlie Nicholas & Brian Rix
Music: I like a bit of everything, but mostly R&B and garage