The Burnley banner is a wake-up call. We need to stop dehumanising racists and instead find answers to some tough questions

Burnley Football Club deserve credit for the way they have dealt with the incident, and their response shows the way forward

Even if Burnley lose to to Watford on Thursday – following a 5-0 hammering at Manchester City on Monday – they have still done a lot right this week.

The game of football is mightily simple, and Burnley – with Sean Dyche as manager – have effectively distilled it into its simplest form. Defending solidly, attacking efficiently and never worrying about overcomplicating either discipline.

But the club were thrown into a situation far more complex than any tactical system City manager Pep Guardiola could have put before them on Monday when a plan flew over the Etihad displaying a “White Lives Matter” banner.

The message was far more than words: a twisted attempt to denigrate the Black Lives Matter movement which has received total support from the Premier League. It was a crude and idiotic ploy as societies great and small finally look for answers to the awkward questions around race relations, specifically pertaining to the treatment of black people by law enforcement and other powers.

Burnley’s response was swift and resolute. A short and sharp statement was released as close to immediately as you can get on matters requiring an official rubber-stamp. Dyche and club captain Ben Mee came out to angrily condemn the incident.

That continued into Tuesday, with a “One Club For All” statement, this time from chairman Mike Garlick and chief executive Neil Hart, which outlined the work the club does to engage with minority groups and make them feel welcome.

Yet arguably the most important part of Burnley’s response was something they did not say. Beyond stating “those responsible are not welcome at Turf Moor”, there was an unwritten acceptance that this was someone who identifies with Burnley, the town and the football club. There was also no attempt to dismiss him as a football fan.

That’s not to say that was not happening elsewhere. Journalists tweeted about how their dealings with the club was proof in their mind that he had no alignment with them. Others claimed anyone who could do such a thing was certainly no fan of the game but simply using it for nefarious means.

Football is not alone in attempting to strip racists of their affiliations. In the last week we have witnessed stories of systemic racism within other sports, ranging from cricket to Nascar, followed by rebuttals stating how these were not reflective of the sports or those within it. Even though these accounts come first-hand from black athletes who have come through those systems.

It is an understandable defence mechanism. The very nature of outrage centres around the unfathomable: being unable to comprehend how someone could be so cruel, so hateful or wired the way they are. When it involves a sport we love, from someone in the colours that we might wear, the resistance is stronger.

Over the last month, this has perhaps been the biggest hindrance to progressing the Black Lives Matter movement. That must change, and it must change with one truth swallowed whole and undiluted. Racists are people too.

Racists love the things we love. Especially sport. They are drawn to its wild unpredictability, just like us. They know the same love for its magic and those capable of conjuring it just as we do. Their voices go hoarse singing for them, just like ours. They cry like we do when those we support crumble, and cry like we do when they soar.

And if that’s uncomfortable, then consider this. The reasons sport can be used for good are the same reasons it can be used for evil. Its power to bind us unshakeably to a cause and instil a tribalism against anyone who dares question us is not tempered by morality. Just as fans sing songs about the holocaust, so too do others sing songs of tragedies afflicting other fans.

Simply liking sport does not equate to goodness, and it never has. If you need more proof, look at message boards. Look at social media accounts and the bile they spill publicly or into the inboxes of those who have pushed for equality over the last few weeks. Have a look at the current trend of sportswashing from murderous regimes. Those comments you say you “shouldn’t read” - suck it up and read them. These aren’t “a small minority”. They are not bots. They are people, like you and I.

Racism cannot simply be viewed as a random mutation of genes that afflicts a small fraction of society. It is a way of thinking that is ingrained in people through the ignorance of their elders which, like it or not, can be accelerated by the fervour and structure of sport.

Understanding that through our own experiences is crucial for rooting out the problem. Well done to Burnley for being one of the few to appreciate that so openly, indirectly or not.

At a time for uncomfortable truths, here is another: stop dehumanising racists – it lets them off the hook.