Shrewsbury Town football club under fire over diversity handbook containing racist slurs

The Independent has taken the decision to name the controversial words used in the diversity handbook for clarity and transparency

A League One football club has come under fire after its charitable body published a diversity handbook for staff containing multiple racist slurs, The Independent can reveal.

Shrewsbury Town FC Foundation circulated the document geared towards enhancing staff members’ knowledge of equality, which referred to Black, Asian and indigenous Aboriginal people using offensive terms.

Under a section entitled ‘The Four Major Races of the World Population’, the guide refers to “white/caucasian, Mongoloid/Asian, Negroid/black and Australoid” groups, but the guide was pulled after The Independent raised concerns.

Though lacking an explanation within the guide, the last slur, Australoid, is an outdated word that’s used to describe Aboriginal people in Australia. It is widely accepted that the other terms are racially offensive.

“We are deeply sorry for any offence caused by the document,” a Shrewsbury Town FC Foundation spokesperson said.

“Everyone at the Shrewsbury Town Foundation is deeply disturbed this document has appeared on our website and that it was not spotted internally and had to be brought to our attention.”

Shrewsbury Town FC Foundation circulated the document geared towards enhancing staff members’ knowledge of equality, which referred to Black, Asian and indigenous Aboriginal people using offensive terms (Screenshot)

Developed by Shrewsbury Town FC Foundation, the club’s charity division, the handbook is composed of modules aimed at developing inclusion and the document says it is used during inductions and at regular team meetings across the football club.

It also appeared on the neighbouring Shrewsbury Town College & University’s website.

The charity last updated the document in 2021, after global anti-racism demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd, despite the handbook saying it would be subject to an annual review.

These particular slurs were popularised by colonialists and are particularly common in archaic science texts.

The language forms part of a discredited classification system which asserts that race is a scientific construct rather than a social one and that people of African, Asian and indigenous ancestry are genetically inferior.

The charity - formerly known as Shrewsbury Town in the Community (STitC) - says the guide is geared towards clarifying language around equality, explains the Equality Act 2010 and delves into the nine protected characteristics covered by the act, giving examples.

“The board of STitC are committed to equality, diversity & inclusion at all levels throughout the organisation,” the handbook’s introduction reads.

Shrewsbury Town FC recently participated in a campaign taking a stand against racism (Screenshot)

“This commitment supports STitC’s stance on anti-discrimination, as well as supporting the work and progress being undertaken towards the achievement of the English Football Leagues (EFL) Equality Code of Practice.”

Founded in 1886, Shrewsbury Town FC is a professional association football club based in Shropshire, the north of England. It falls under the auspices of the English Football League.

Shrewsbury Town FC Foundation was launched in 2008 and works to “create opportunities for the local community by improving health and wellbeing, providing better life chances, and creating stronger communities”.

The football club recently participated in a campaign taking a stand against racism.

This is the latest instance where The Independent has uncovered racist slurs being used in official documents within large organisations.

Last week, a probe by this newspaper prompted the UK’s largest independent supplier of laboratory materials to remove an negroid slur describing some of its products and launched an audit into language used within its organisation.

The charity last updated the document in 2021, after global anti-racism demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd (Getty Images)

The Independent also first reported on racist slurs being used in UK government documents, the Met Office and the Royal Collection catalogue of jewels in 2023.

Shrewsbury Town FC Foundation is currently working on a new diversity policy, the organisation confirmed.

The handbook was supplied by a third-party organisation who help produce EDI materials for various bodies, the charity said, and the charity’s managers explained have “spoken to them and made them aware the words used are unacceptable”.

“We would like to assure everyone we have taken all the necessary steps to have the document taken down and removed,” a spokesperson said.

“Since that document was published in June 2021, we have appointed a new foundation director (who replaced the previous CEO), a new club chief executive and a new head of welfare. “

The new foundation director, Shin Aujla, was appointed in April this year.

Shrewsbury Town FC Foundation was launched in 2008. (Screenshot)

He is currently reviewing the company’s EDI strategies, activities and polices, having had a background of experience in EDI and currently supports a number of organisations as an ambassador.

The Shrewsbury Town Foundation says it champions equality, diversity and inclusion.

A spokesperson from Kick It Out, a football anti-racism organisation, said: “It is deeply concerning that dated and inaccurate references to racial classifications have been repeated in a club guide to equality, diversity and inclusion.

“While the club has taken action to correct this mistake, it’s another example of why further education is needed across the game.”