VINCENT PERICARD: Why football's rule makers are finally getting the message on racism and homophobia thanks to 'heroes' like Boateng and Rogers

Published: 01:30 EST, 31 July 2013 | Updated: 03:25 EST, 31 July 2013

French striker Vincent Pericard played for Juventus, Portsmouth and Stoke City, among others, during his club playing career and also represented France's Under 21 team. He retired from the game aged 28 last year and set up a company that aims to help overseas players adapt to life in England. He has also been appointed chairman of the Professional Players Guidance Group for Kick It Out as the organisation marks its 20th year by launching a ‘Season of Action’. This is his debut Footballers’ Football Column.

 

Vincent Pericard - Footballers' Football Column

Players like Laurie Cunningham and Benjamin Odeje are heroes for me and I genuinely believe that if it wasn’t for their bravery in facing racist prejudice on the pitch, I wouldn’t have had a career in the game.

Odeje was the first black player to represent England at any level, as a schoolboy in the early Seventies, while Cunningham was the first to play Under 21 football for England. There is a lot of naivety about what happened in the past, about what these players went through to allow people like me to play football.

I think we take it for granted and I feel I need to educate the players that you are not here through luck - something happened 10 or 20 years ago for you to be here. Those players made it happen.

It is very important to give these players respect and you can do that by playing your part today so future generations can look back at you and them and say ‘Thank you.’

Combative: Vincent Pericard in the colours of Portsmouth, taking on Liverpool's Sami Hyypia during a January 2006 FA Cup tie at Fratton Park

Strength: Pericard, playing for Sheffield United, holds off Millwall's Matt Lawrence in a Championship match at the New Den in October 2005

Hero: Pericard credits Laurie Cunningham, the first black player to represent England Under 21s, as being an inspiration to him and many others to play football and enter the professional ranks

Kevin-Prince Boateng joined them amongst my heroes when he made that stand against racism by walking off the pitch when playing for Milan. The authorities listened to him when that happened. Without him, they would still be paying lip service.

Now that is done, I don’t think it is necessary for players to do that because the message is out there that more needs to be done. Before, it was very important. But now we have got their attention.

The attitude of the governing bodies continues to frustrate black and minority players. I believe it is like what Lord Ouseley (Chair of Kick It Out) said: ‘It is a white dominated boardroom.’ I will imagine those people have not experienced first-hand racism and discrimination. So I feel they don’t really understand where we’re coming from.

If they did, I can guarantee they would do more to introduce inclusive policies and practices within the game. We need to have that talk today.

But I am very happy they are slowly realising that we are living in a global community today. It is not just the French, the Germans, the Italians, the Africans - it is a global world.

The only way clubs will learn is to hit them where it hurts - in the pocket. Everyone is very good at paying lip service - ‘yeah, we do this, we do that’ - but in reality, they don’t. So if you actually give them fines, they will pay attention. It might be the time to go stronger on the punishments, like relegations, if the club doesn’t follow the policies.

We will give players a voice and find out to what extent there is racism in football in 2013. Players have not been engaging with Kick It Out because they don’t really believe in that. So a group representing them is a strategy to make them engage again.

We will be going to players and football clubs to announce the creation of the group and we are going to be doing a survey to ask them: ‘What do you think of Kick It Out?’, ‘What do you think of equality and diversity within football?’ ‘What are your issues?’

To this end, we have a consultation going out soon, where we are asking them: ‘Have you experienced racism on the pitch? In the dressing rooms? Is the racism player to player, fan to player?’

Robbie Rogers was also very courageous in ‘coming out’ as a gay footballer. But it should not be like that, we should embrace everyone with sexual tendencies, religion etc. It is a process, we cannot go faster than the mentality of the society.

He is the first one to say ‘I’m homosexual.’ Yes, he was forced to step back from the game but he has since returned and that is very brave. People will look at him and think ‘if he can do it, then I can do it too.’ We will hopefully see another one, and then another one.

Taking a stand: Pericard praised the bravery of AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng after he walked off the pitch in protest after being racially abused in a friendly with Pro Patria in February this year

Homosexuality is one of the last taboos in football, and football is one of the last sports to accept it. I thought it was because football is so male and manly, but then I looked at rugby where gay players have come out and we are not going to argue that football is more manly than rugby! Definitely not. If rugby can do it, it’s not a question of being more manly or macho - it is about maturity. 

There is a lot of banter in the dressing room, we are like kids. It is a place where education is missing. If we can teach them about diversity, this is a place where more homosexual players can come forward.

I’m sure there are more gay players out there than the one we know. They think they cannot ‘come out’ because of the prejudices in the game and they know their dreams will be shattered.

I think fan to players is not as bad. There are probably a lot of gay fans within the crowd. It can be passed as 'banter', winding the player up. If it is between players, it is born of naivety and it can hurt a lot more. Those players need to be educated. I am more worried about player to player or especially manager to player rather than fan to players.

'Courageous': Robbie Rogers, who plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy, is the first openly gay professional footballer in North America

I will never understand why clubs spend £20m on a new player and then nothing on helping him settle in. Welfare is the most important thing in maximising a player’s potential - if you are happy, you play better. You are more productive, you do more things, you feel better in yourself.

At the moment, football clubs are treating young players as a commodity rather than as an individual. If they are not good enough, they will chuck them away.

They buy a player for £1m, £5m, £10m, £20m and they bring them here, the agent parachutes them in and leaves him to fend for himself in a country where he doesn’t understand the language and is not part of the society. And yet, he is asked to perform the next day.

We are working with clubs and the governing bodies to improve this. The welfare is being disregarded and sometimes the consequences of this is that the players can sometimes want to take their lives because they are not given any pastoral care.