Patrice Evra speaks out on racist abuse and how to combat it in football huddles.
On the eve of the World Cup, the Arsenal player was called out by a fan for “getting carried away” by what he labelled “a monkey punch.” This month, the striker has also spoken out about racism in football.
Speaking on a conference call with the Premier League’s official anti-racism charity, the player said that the sport needed to “go faster, faster.”
Here, he explains why he feels this need is in danger of becoming a “selfish” goal.
LAWRENCE BENFORD: What’s the difference between racism and discrimination?
PETER VANDERHEIDE: I get it, but I don’t get it. Racism can sometimes be about power or privilege. It can be about the colour of skin. Sometimes it can be about being a footballer. I don’t think that can be used to label people.
But let’s not split hairs over it. Racism is discrimination. If you talk about racism, I think you should be careful in how you talk about it. Racism and discrimination are very different from each other.
LAWRENCE BENFORD: The way you are describing it, it’s just discrimination.
PETER VANDERHEIDE: Racism is a term that has been bandied around.
It’s a very broad term. Sometimes people use it to mean an abuse of power. If you look at it from that perspective …
LAWRENCE BENFORD: I don’t see the problem.
PETER VANDERHEIDE: Racism is a term that has been bandied about and used to define a lot more than what we see in football these days. If you look at the language that’s used, you’ll see that it has been the wrong way to define it. It has been about power and privilege.
LAWRENCE BENF