SOUTH BASILDON and East Thurrock MP, Stephen Metcalfe rose on the floor of the house at Prime Ministers Question Time to ask a question regarding racism in football.
Mr Metcalfe said: “We have put great effort into stamping out and kicking out racism in football in this country. Will my right hon. Friend assure the House that when he brings together representatives of the sport later today, he will do everything he can to ensure that prejudice does not creep back into the game and that racism stays out of football?
David Cameron (Prime Minister; Witney, Conservative)
“My right hon. Friend is entirely right to raise this issue. It was a huge achievement when Britain, and its football authorities and clubs, led the world in kicking racism out of football, something that has not happened in all other countries. However, we have seen some worrying signs recently.
“The reason I think that this matters so much, not just to football but to Government and to everyone in our country, is that football and footballers are role models for young people. What people see on the football pitch they copy when they go and learn to play football themselves. That is why I think it important to bring people together and ensure that we kick racism out of football for good.”
Is this article a joke? Have we forgotten the recent article about the metcalfe assistant and the slur about disabled people. Now he thinks he is an advocate for equality!! It is usually the conservatives that are attacking minority groups, promoting negative stories about equality. It is not just about kicking racism out of football but also society as a whole. Do the conservatives have any manifesto commitments to tackling racism? How about we begin by kicking racism out of the Thurrock tory party. I see no comments about that. To be clear most football louts that use racist language are conservative voters so maybe his comments may help (who knows).