Kevin Betsy Discusses Encounters With Racism in Soccer

By Dan Tennant-Ralphs

Walsall midfielder discusses his encounters with racism

Walsall midfielder Kevin Betsy has spoken about the racism he has encountered on the pitch.

The 30-year-old talked about experiencing monkey chants from fans and slurs from players during his 11-year career.

He said the abuse was unacceptable, but is not in favour of walking off the pitch in protest.

Kevin Betsy, Bristol City, talks about racism in soccer

Ban Racist Supporters

Betsy believes steps should be taken to ban racist supporters from the grounds. He also said he never had any problems while playing for Bristol City, the club from which he is currently on loan at Walsall.

Filmed wearing a T-shirt with the logo, 'One Game For All, Without Racism', Betsy talked about abuse he received while playing for other clubs.

He said: "The team we were playing against, one of the players came out with something. At first I was a bit shocked, but I thought 'Let's get on with the game'.

"It was surprising, but these things happen in games. We played one Eastern European team and I had monkey chants. It's not an acceptable thing. I think it's a cultural thing"

FIFA policy should handle racism

Asked if he would ever walk off the pitch, he said: "That's a bit drastic. England players that suffered mass racism in Spain did not walk off the pitch. I've just got to brush it off, but after the match you reflect on it.

"It's difficult for an individual player to do something, it's more a matter for the football authorities.

"FIFA should clamp down on it. Banning supporters from entering the grounds is one way.

"There's not many other ways of doing it. Taking points from clubs is one, but it's an open subject."

Advice to young players

Asked what advice he would give to young players suffering racial abuse, he said: "Don't retaliate or react to it. Be positive and beat them on the pitch through football.

"After the game, have a polite word and say 'do you know what you said?' If you try to put a positive thing and let football do the talking and confront them in a nice manner, then you'll always be a winner."

Dan Tennant-Ralphs is a Bristol-based Cardiff University student journalist. See more of Dan's work at http://geocities.com/tennantralphs - including photos of his anti-racism T-shirt.

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