Beyond Doubt, Beyond Divides.

The December of 2011 and the January of 2012 have turned into a bonafide Winter of footballing discontent. Allegation upon allegation and unsavoury events have overshadowed what's turning out to be a decent three-way battle at the top of the Premier League.
Amid fevered finger pointing and the constant, distracting hum of hundreds of holier-than-thou-hounds in every form of media, one thing has become painfully obvious - that the organisations that fight daily to rid the game of racially motivated abuse and discrimination are being let down by a weak FA.

To tackle racism in any form, you first need a clear, indisputable system for the implementation of carefully designed law and appropriately conceived regulation. When a footballer is accused of racism it's vital that the player is tried in a consistent way that affords them every right and process due, and that any subsequent verdict of guilt or of innocence is defined and reached by such terms. Otherwise, as we've seen in recent weeks, the underlying cause and the primary objective in the design and the execution of those laws will be undermined.
It will become an objective cheapened by ongoing debate and often baseless condemnation of the wrong parties, weakened by distractions and drawn out by arguments. Anything that falls short of clearly identifying culprits compromises a quest that if left unaddressed, or implemented badly, threatens to damage the game of football in this country.

When the FA choose, against good advice, to persist with a system reliant on process that employs methods open to the ravages of conjecture. When they continue to opt to convict without definitive proof, then the message they send out cannot convey a prioritisation of fairness or project values that judge only on merit, irrespective of a person's cultural background or appearance, and regardless of their reputation.
Ridding the game of the blight of racial and cultural bigotry is deserving of the same unquestionable systems for prosecuting offenders, as ridding the wider nation of racism is. Only when you start with a system where judgements are beyond reasonable doubt, and handed down only after proper process has been observed, will you end up with a situation where sanction is imposed within a climate where the ongoing primary objective and talking point will remain to be the fight against intolerance and the eradication of discrimination. Only when judgement is made to the best possible degree of accuracy will you banish the arguments and debates that so distract from the real task at hand.

It's not realistic to expect a club or a support to unite behind condemnation of a player that hasn't been proven to impede the pursuit of a tolerant game, and in turn, it's not fair or reasonable to expect unwavering and universal approval of a press that joins in that condemning, based on the same results of systematic failing. If from the outset, the process is tainted by doubt, then contamination is irreversible and the end product can only ever be one of confusion and confrontation. Only the concise is completely productive in the fight against racism, only a quest that is free from doubt from the start will result in a universal acceptance of decisions founded in its legislation, no matter how admirable the intentions behind that legislation are.

When you remove independent, measured governance and process, and introduce argument, you head down a road that is counter-productive and there's no turning back once that wrong turn is made.
Combine this with the tribalism and the one-upmanship present in football support, and the doubt in that authority becomes completely detrimental to its purpose. To forsake proper and indisputable governance, especially when fierce football rivalries are involved, is to banish the aim of racial equality in football to a wilderness of circular argument. One that sees the underlying message lost, the task hindered and that principle of equality cheapened.
No club will accept incomplete process in judgement on such damaging terms, and no football rival will settle for anything short of going for the throat. The Suarez issue hasn't been about racism for weeks; it's been a downward spiral of disrepute. The case and the way it was conducted has certainly not proven to be conducive to the eradication of racism from football, with seemingly more apparent instances of abuse being reported in the weeks following the judgement, than are evident in most full seasons in the top flight.

The fight against racism in the domestic leagues deserves more than a casual backing. It's not enough to talk the talk, it's important that in governance the FA also walks the walk in their implementing of policy and the enforcing of laws that are aimed at freeing football from racism in any form. The impassioned individuals that work solely to this end would do well to demand that no repeat of recent events takes place. The clear stance of those that fight so hard and so clearly for the cause of tolerance should be mirrored by those trusted with the enforcement of rule over the game.
Gone should be a system that brings judgement on fuzzy terms, and in its place should be a concise, final method of enforcement, free from the detrimental rot of second guessing, recrimination and doubts caused by conflicts of interest. And the system should be supported by proper avenues for defence and appeal on behalf of the accused.

This is a football league and a country enriched by varied cultural influences,  and so much brighter for the passions and flair of a myriad of influences that it encompasses.
Where there's a will to embrace those improvements on their own terms and see football as a world game, where barriers don't amount to devaluing difference and borders don't present impenetrable barriers to talent, dealing with anything that compromises that should be swift, final and unquestionable.

The way forward should be clear. It's only when you provide a fit for purpose system for the supporters of every football club to unite behind, that you'll succeed in conveying the right message. When your commitment to the fight is defined publicly by your freely choosing to leave your judgement more open to argument than it need be, then you weaken your hand, you weaken your authority and your perceived enthusiasm, and you leave the game susceptible to the damage and the influence that the racists wish to inflict - because you fail to present a united front.

There's an unsavoury element in society that seeks to exploit weaknesses in governance so that it can spread a message of hate. The last couple of weeks have seen a game that's turned on itself, dropped its guard and left exposed the front line in a constant battle to maintain a welcoming environment for all, and an arena that prizes talent without prejudice. Indecisive, watered down governance has led to instances of arrest at football grounds up and down the country, from London, to Liverpool and again today in Manchester. The infighting needs to stop. The inadequate mechanics of the current FA system and our reliance on it to protect the game against racism needs to go. Methods that drive football supporters apart are obviously not suitable. Collective focus needs to be restored or the cracks in our lines of defence will be exploited, and the problems of the past will return.
Not only do we need to continue to show that we will not abide by racial discrimination, we need to reinforce that commitment with a new system for its implementation. One that's beyond question, beyond argument and beyond reasonable doubt.

Currently it's as if we've lost sight as a collective, of the ultimate goal. The press and the organisations supporting change are working against the clubs, the supporters are working against the press and indignant about unfair criticism from the organisations. Yet the fact remains that the war won't ever be won, unless we're all fighting the spectre of racism - not against ourselves.
It matters not whether the reason for the divides are political, territorial or even editorial - It's all counter productive to the cause, and the cause should take priority.

If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it's that the threat of racism in football is still a very real one, that ignorance's ghouls and thugs never really went completely away. That any form of weakness in the stand against them will be exploited to the detriment of the game.
That if we forget the fight, people and football are at risk.
So let's use the second decade of the new century to take the fight to the racists with systems worthy of the aim, with processes mindful of the fact that we started the fight in the first place, for very good reason.
Unity, behind fair, consistent and balanced governance is the only path to the game we nearly all want, and the FA aren't currently providing that facility.

Policy alone isn't enough.
Be it in the courts or under a new FA system for discipline; swift, just and immaculately executed action, beyond even the slightest dispute, is also required.

(Lee)