Racism on the soccer field took a toll on Black players in England

By JAMES ROBSON and JEROME PUGMIRE
AP Sports Writers

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Black players were only just beginning to integrate into some of England’s biggest soccer teams in the 1980s when racism was rife and hooliganism was on the rise. British-born Paul Canoville tells The Associated Press how he was regularly called “the N-word,” told to “go home” and had bananas thrown at him when he played for Chelsea. Even more astounding to him was the source of the vitriol. Canoville says “it was the majority of my own fans.” Canoville is now 61 and a reminder of the work soccer still needs to do to fight racism amid increasing examples of players being subjected to hatred across Europe and beyond.