West Brom head coach Darren Moore believes a level of complacency exists in British football’s fight against racism, claiming “we’re nowhere near where we thought we were”.
The Baggies boss, who is one of very few high-profile black managers or coaches in this country, described Saturday’s abuse directed at Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling against Chelsea as “an isolated incident”.
However, he was keen to stress that an element of racism remains in the game and believes the issue has been overlooked.
“We’ve probably been complacent, as a sport,” he said.
“It’s a good point. Incidents like we’ve just witnessed shouldn’t be happening in this day and age. It’s highlighted that we aren’t where we thought we were.
“We’re nowhere near.”
Speaking at a press conference ahead of his side’s Championship clash at Sheffield United on Friday, he added: “It’s brought us as a footballing world together and into thinking that we need to do something about it.
“Supporters in the stand, if they hear things like that now, they’ll point out the culprits.
“Let’s get them far away from our game, because it’s damaging the sport.”
Sterling, who was named the Premier League player of the month for November on Wednesday, faced abuse in his side’s defeat at Chelsea last weekend. The England international has since issued a statement accusing the media of fuelling racism in its reporting of certain stories.
“I thought the way Raheem articulated himself was spot on,” Moore added.
“He has a point. He’s probably expressing that – ‘come on, let’s us together, everyone, the governing bodies, the clubs, the media – we have an opportunity to get clear open messages and educate people and make a step forward in trying to deal with this situation’.”
