Former Sunderland captain, Gary Bennett MBE spoke with students at Leeds Trinity University about his experiences as one of the few Black players in the football world of the 1980s.
During his talk at Journalism and Media Week, Bennett, who was the second Black player to play for Sunderland after Roly Greogoire, reflected on the challenges he faced on and off the pitch in the North-East.
“It was something new, not just for the football club, but for myself too,” he shared, recalling the atmosphere of racism that was common place. “In the 80’s, there was a lot of racism both on and off the pitch.” There were TV programmes that brought this racism to your living room.”
Bennett recounted that despite being a vital team player, he often felt unsupported by his club in the face of racial abuse from fans. “We were trying to win a football game as a team – that’s the only thing we’re trying to do” he says, reinstating that there is a common goal for all football fans and players, and racism should have no place in football.
He observed how, for many fans, football matches became a platform for venting frustrations, which were mainly directed at Black players. “They get all of their frustration and stress out and put it on Black players,” Bennett explained. “There is a lot of racism and homophobia that happens on a Saturday between 3 and 5 o’clock at football games. When the whistle is blown, they go home and act like nothing has happened.”
Since leaving the pitch, Bennett has committed to fighting racism as an advocate for Show Racism the Red Card, one of the UK’s largest anti-racism campaigns in sports. He acknowledged the personal difficulty he continues to face: “Its a challenge everyday – when I walk out of my front door, I have my fingers crossed that I don’t get any racist abuse.”
The landscape of football has changed over the years, with increasing diversity across the teams. Bennett expressed his pride in seeing more Black players on Sunderland’s roster, including players like Jobe Bellingham and Romaine Mundle, who are continuing to break down barriers.
However, discrimination persists in the sport, as shown by a 2020 report on racial bias in football commentary. The report found that commentators were more likely to describe Black players as “powerful” or “pacey”, while work ethic was disproportionately attributed to players with lighter skin tones.
“I’m not sure why someone would want to use the word ‘pacey’,” Bennet said. “You might say someone is quick – this isn’t related to the player’s race.”
Bennett argued that journalists must be particularly mindful of language: “You have to be very careful when reporting as a sports journalist, you have to do your homework.”
He also called for greater accountability at the management level in football, following recent incidents like the racist chanting directed at 17-year-old Barcelona star Lamine Yamal during a game .
“This starts at the boardroom when punishments are being handed out by UEFA and La Ligua,” he pointed out. “There are people working behind the scenes who aren’t Black and won’t understand it, unless they are on the receiving end of discrimination and racist abuse.”
When asked about accepting his MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), Bennett touched on the debate among Black British figures over this honour. In 2016, a former Liverpool player famously declined the MBE due to its association with the British Empire, a stance echoed by cultural icons like the late Benjamin Zephaniah and George the Poet.
In an interview with Channel 4, Gayle said: “People say that we should forget and move on as Black people but the point that I would make is: every year in this country, we remember the heroic efforts of people who gave their life to this country during the world wars, but as descendants of Africa we aren’t allowed to remember the slave trade and the involvement that the UK had.”
In response to this, Bennett said: “Sometimes, its just a personal choice. I’ve got a platform and I want to educate people on racism,”
“I didn’t have any dreams of getting an MBE as a child, but hopefully what I believe in will raise awareness about racism,” he told the audience.
“I understand the history of the British Empire and the slave trade. We can’t keep going back to the past, we need to move forward.”