• Procedural review needed, says parliamentary committee
• FA must also demand stronger leadership from Uefa and Fifa
Football administrators, supporters and players have no room for complacency regarding discrimination, racism included. That is the conclusion of a parliamentary committee which has urged the Football Association to demonstrate strong, example-setting leadership.
Among its key recommendations are measures to increase the number of black managers, directors and referees. Although these stop short of advocating positive discrimination, there is a suspicion that certain recruitment processes are not entirely meritocratic and may instead favour white candidates.
The committee also stops short of suggesting that new legislation is needed, pointing out that: "There is already legislation in the UK concerning racist or indecent behaviour at football matches. The Football Offences Act 1991 made racist or indecent chanting an offence at a designated football match."
Instead it says: "We recommend that the Football Association commission an external body to conduct a review of the educational programmes about discrimination currently available and make recommendations based on their effectiveness." It adds: "The FA should demand stronger leadership from Uefa and Fifa on tackling racism."
The Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee conducted its inquiry in the wake of some high-profile cases of alleged racist abuse last season and concluded that consistent methods for reporting criminal behaviour, most notably racism, are still lacking, particularly at grass-roots level.
Another concern, which it believes needs addressing, is homophobic abuse. This was described as a "significant problem", sometimes concealed by the euphemistic term "laddish behaviour". The use of social media by, among others, the FA, as a deterrent to this and other types of discrimination was advocated.
Committee members also identified a clear need to encourage more candidates from ethnic minorities to train as coaches and referees, thereby ensuring that clubs can recruit from a more diverse talent pool. They stressed that all appointments should be based on merit, irrespective of race, and concluded that the most equitable way to introduce greater diversity among managers and club boards was to encourage a transparency and consistency of recruitment across the game.
While noting radical changes in atmosphere and attitudes at matches since the 1970s and 1980s when racist abuse proved common and football was often far from family friendly, the committee stressed that room for improvement remained.
It hopes the FA will prioritise the development of procedures and training which would enable stewards and other club staff to react swiftly and consistently to abusive incidents.
While prosecutions in cases of racial abuse at league and club level are "extremely welcome", similar efforts should be applied to the grass-roots game, the committee said.
John Whittingdale MP, chair of the committee, said: "Much has been done to improve the atmosphere and behaviour at football matches. However, significant problems remain.
"Social media has become a tool for the spread of racist and abusive content but it is also a potential means of combating the ignorance and prejudice that lie behind such behaviour.
"The football authorities should be using this developing communication forum to spread positive messages about equality and diversity and to speak out strongly against racist abuse. More needs to be done to increase the diversity of coaches and referees, to embed the values of equality and diversity at all levels.
"While the general level of progress in combating racism and racist abuse in the UK should be applauded, there is much more that can and must be done. We believe it is for the FA to take the lead and set the example for everyone to follow."