Racism and English football

Two decades into the twenty-first century, one cannot fail to recognise that the enduring portrayal of English football as having eradicated racism and concomitantly become a post-race entity is wholly inaccurate. This chapter outlines the extent of the current problem, how we arrived at this situation and the various ways that different groups have responded. It focuses explicitly on how racism in English professional football is talked about. Introducing the concept of the ‘paradox of the returning constant’, this chapter illustrates how racism in the sport has been discursively displaced, mitigated and denied, to the extent that its contemporary occurrence is subsequently regarded as a ‘return’. The discussion critiques this position, arguing that racism never left English football. It has held a constant and central presence throughout the modern era. It is firmly embedded and historically rooted in English football’s professional structures, cultures and institutions, and operates as a form of systemic discrimination.