One week in October: Luis Suárez, John Terry and the turn to racial neoliberalism in English men’s professional football

Abstract

This article explores two significant incidents of racism – involving Luis Suárez and John Terry – from the 2011–2012 English Premier League football season. In particular, it analyses and contextualises the reactions and responses articulated by key stakeholders within the football industry. Discursive themes were employed by these individuals as a means of trying to mitigate and/or exonerate the actions of Suárez and Terry, to question the veracity of the allegations made against them, and to downplay the extent and effects of racism in English football more generally. The article situates these standpoints within the wider cultural politics of race in the game and extricates the connections between discourse and structure in manifestations of racism. It demonstrates that these dominant responses are indicative of colour-blind ideology, white racial framing and the rules of racial standing. It also argues that these sporting trends are part of a wider societal shift towards racial neoliberalism.

Keywords:

• colour-blind ideology
• critical race theory
• football
• racial neoliberalism
• racism
• sport

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to the critical feedback provided on earlier drafts of this article by Tim Burdsey, Jayne Caudwell, Mark Doidge and Stan Thangaraj. I am also extremely grateful to the journal editors, the two anonymous reviewers, and academic audiences in Belfast, Brighton, Liverpool, Nashville, New Orleans, Preston and Toronto for their insightful and constructive comments on the arguments developed in this article.

Notes

1. The FA panel invited contributions from academic experts on the use of Spanish language and South American vernaculars. Although these scholars highlighted the ambiguity around the use of the term ‘negro’ in the Uruguayan context, and debated whether it had been used by Suárez as an adjective or noun, they concluded that it was used deliberately to cause offence (Football Association 2011).

2. Little attention was given to the sexist and misogynistic nature of the exchange between Terry and Ferdinand – the word ‘cunt’ was used by both players in the verbal exchanges on the pitch – although the routine nature of terminology that demeans women in men’s football cultures generated some subsequent discussion.

3. The data included in this article were generated ‘live’ through the collection of press articles (print and online) at the time of the incidents, and also during the periods of the respective inquiries/trials. Subsequent searches were undertaken through the UK Newsstand database – using fields based on the players’ names – to identify any gaps in the analysis.

4. Evra is alleged to have accused an opponent, Steve Finnan, and a member of Chelsea FC’s ground staff, of racism previously, yet these claims were made by other team members (Garner 2013).

5. Guardian journalist, Daniel Taylor, refutes Mourinho’s claim that playing alongside black teammates at Chelsea eliminated the likelihood of Terry engaging in a racist act. Taylor (2012) claims that it was well known within English football that a significant number of these players did not sign a statement in support of Terry.

6. ‘Choc ice’, in this context, is a pejorative slang term for a black person who is seen to be servile and submissive to white authority, and seeks the approval of white people.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniel Burdsey

DANIEL BURDSEY is Principal Lecturer in the School of Sport and Service Management at the University of Brighton