A new study has found that racial bias is prevalent in television commentary of football.
The research, conducted by Danish research firm RunRepeat in association with the Professional Footballers’ Association, discovered that in match commentary analysed from 80 games during the 2019-20 season 63.33 per cent of criticism was aimed at “players with a darker skin tone” while 62.60 per cent of praise was aimed at “players with a lighter skin tone”.
While making clear that “the commentators may not have intended to further racial stereotypes” the study says: “We now need everyone in football, including commentators and broadcasters, to consider the part they play in furthering implicit bias towards people with darker skin tones. This must be the moment that we all, collectively, begin to address deep-rooted racial stereotypes.”
Other key findings revealed that commentators were six-and-a-half times more likely to refer to the physical “power” of players with a darker skin tone, and more than three times more likely to discuss the “speed” of players with a darker skin tone. Comparatively, 60.40 per cent of praise for “work ethic” was in reference to players with a lighter skin tone.
The report says: “Players have been unified in their support of the Black Lives Matter movement, sending a strong message about equality. However, the players themselves still have to navigate systemically racist structures, despite their significant platforms and professional success. This racial bias study makes the nuances of that structure apparent.”
It adds: “The narrative of black people’s primary value laying in their physicality and not their intelligence dates back to attitudes modern society is determined to eradicate. While this type of unconscious prejudice has become less overt, even subtle racial bias is damaging, continues a legacy of pain and has long-reaching societal consequences.”
To conduct the research, a team from RunRepeat, led by chief executive Jens Jakob Andersen, analysed commentary in 80 games from the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1. All of the commentary was in English and the commentators worked for media outlets in the UK, US and Canada. Researchers used the detailed skin tone attribute in the Football Manager video game, which gives a score from 1 (the lightest) to 20 (the darkest) and categorised those with a “lighter skin tone” as 1-11 and those with a “darker skin tone” as 12-20.
PFA equalities education executive Jason Lee, the former Nottingham Forest striker, said: “To address the real impact of structural racism, we have to acknowledge and address racial bias. This study shows an evident bias in how we describe the attributes of footballers based on their skin colour.
“Commentators help shape the perception we hold of each player, deepening any racial bias already held by the viewer. It’s important to consider how far-reaching those perceptions can be and how they impact footballers even once they finish their playing career. If a player has aspirations of becoming a coach or manager, is an unfair advantage given to players that commentators regularly refer to as intelligent and industrious, when those views appear to be a result of racial bias?”
On Monday , the Premier League, PFA and EFL launched a Bame coach placement scheme aimed at increasing the number of black, Asian and minority ethnic players transitioning into coaching.
The scheme, funded by the PFA and Premier League, will provide six coaches per season with 23-month intensive work placements at EFL clubs. The players, who can apply at any point in their career, will work in either the first-team or academy. The first intake will launch in the 2020-21 season.
Darren Moore, the chairman of the Premier League’s Black Participants’ Advisory Group and Doncaster manager, said: “We all know and agree that the diversity of coaches and managers must increase and this placement scheme represents a positive step.
“There are lots of roles in the academy system all the way through to first team and young coaches can slot in at different points to begin that journey. We need to have the right structures and people in place to develop their careers,” added Moore.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2VtBD1q
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