Showing the race card the red card

THE FINAL WORD

The final Sunday of June saw barbecues ignited across Britain, and Germany crowned champions of Euro 96. Half-an-hour before kick-off I clandestinely vacated the garden, opting instead to jostle for position in front of the television. The scene must have been duplicated in thousands of living-rooms across the country. The only difference here was that most of the guests were black.

Last week, a report in Britain's leading black newspaper claimed that many British blacks supported teams other than England in Euro 96 because they felt the torrent of nationalism verged on xenophobia. More than half of the respondents said they refused to back British teams, opting instead for teams with higher numbers of black players like the Netherlands. One respondent complained: "Les Ferdinand should have been there. Regardless of the strategic validity, it is the visual image that counts."

I disagree. Some of the Euro 96 coverage was distasteful. Yet it appears strange to me that Venables's squad should be held responsible for the excesses of the tabloid press who, only a few weeks earlier, vilified sections of the team. Moreover, had the Dutch not sent Edgar Davids home amid accusations of discrimination against black players?

The issue of racism in British sport brings with it all the familiar doubts and fears about the condition of our society. Can sections of it feel so disenfranchised that they would rather support Germany than the country they reside in?

All my friends, black and white, supported England, and the subject of race never arose. I was able to attend one of the group matches and was swept away on a wave of international goodwill.

Adopting the Norman Tebbit line - that all residents in the UK should support national teams, regardless of cultural heritage - clearly fails to appreciate the duality of blacks living in England.

Like, I would think, the overwhelming majority of the Afro-Caribbeans here, I find no sight more pleasurable than watching Curtly Ambrose destroying English batsman, or Brian Lara sending another ball to the boundary.

I was born in England, and my first memories of cricket involve watching my father play on Sundays. All the teams in this league were West Indian. By the time I was 11 I knew the names of every West Indian cricket international and the different islands they were from.

This support of West Indies is not, as is often presumed, a negation of England. It is an endorsement of our unique style of play (I still remember how subdued university cricket first appeared by comparison) and a celebration of the one thing that unites all West Indians . . . as long as the team is successful.

However, the same does not apply to football. The majority of young blacks regard football as their first sporting love, and while it is true that many of us identify with teams like the Netherlands who field many black players, I thoroughly enjoyed watching England destroy the Dutch.

I do not think that we are under-represented in the English game, or the England team. Twenty-five per cent of the membership of the Professional Footballers' Association is black; a figure much higher than the 1.5 per cent of Afro-Caribbeans in the general population. And black players have made considerable inroads into the national team over the last 20 years; Graham Taylor once chose six black players in the starting 11.

There is no evidence to suggest that Terry Venables is a racist. I for one feel disappointed that such a talented coach (who brought on countless black players at QPR and Spurs) should be the target of such churlish accusations. While only three black players made the final squad many more narrowly missed selection. And as for young black players like David James, Ugo Ehiogu and Stan Collymore, their time will surely come.

Of those included, Paul Ince was a first-choice selection while Sol Campbell lacked experience and was always likely to have a peripheral role. What, though, are we to make of Les Ferdinand's omission?

England are blessed with a wealth of top-class strikers, many of whom are black. Venables could have picked numerous combinations - my pre-tournament choice favoured Collymore and Fowler - but his penchant for only one advanced striker meant that places would always be at a premium.

Because of their age, older blacks like Ian Wright were rarely in contention, despite good form, while Ferdinand's form had dipped towards the end of the season. By the advent of the tournament Fowler had replaced him as Shearer's main rival.

In the end Shearer was chosen despite his dry spell at international level . . . a subjective choice, but one which Venables was paid to make. Racism did not come into it and, by the end of the tournament, it was clear that he had made the right one.

We do not feel alienated from the game in England, or the national team, but we do feel alienated from the stadiums, and here I think English football still has a problem. Racial abuse forces too many blacks to support the game from their living-rooms. Kick racism off the terraces and you'll see black supporters mirror their heroes on the field of play.