The Scottish Racism Project: Racism Stories: Football, local & national games (Lyndon)

Multicultural Jamaican Canadian roots

With all the historical migration from Scotland to Canada, growing up in the North American nation, you’d hear many stories romanticising Caledonian shores passed down through the generations. Such are their proliferation in the social zeitgeist that even newer immigrants from different locales are still subjected to them. That was the case with a Black Canadian whose family emigrated from Jamaica that we’ll call Lyndon. It’s fair to say he grew up comfortably in his multicultural Canadian community in Toronto exposed to a range of ethnic influences, including the aforementioned Scottish ones presenting the region in a positive light. So when he started his career and had a 1999 work opportunity to emigrate to Scotland, Lyndon had no qualms doing so. But upon arrival, he was admittedly surprised to find a very monocultural community, and even more so about what would happen next…

Local Football Games

As always when arriving into a new situation, it’s important to get orientated, find a place to stay, work out where the shops are and buy yourself some home comforts. For Lyndon, that also meant taking in a few sports games. At home in Canada, the main national game was ice hockey and he’d always enjoyed going to matches with friends and cheering his team on. Well, in Scotland the main national game was football, and he was happy to channel his appreciation for athletic competition through this new medium. So when his work colleagues invited him to a game between Falkirk and Hibernian (Hibs),[1] he gladly accepted, adorning a blue hoodie to help stave off the Scottish cold. Standing in the Falkirk stands towards the front close to the pitch, Lyndon was excited for his first ever football match experience. Even when it started raining, he wasn’t fazed from his cheerful mood, as he pulled his hood over his head.

Falkirk Football Club Stadium

As the match began, Lyndon noticed he was no longer the sole Black person in the stadium because amongst the Hibs players was Trinidadian footballer Russell Latapy. Although playing for the other team, Lyndon was still glad to indulge in all the Hibs midfielder’s ball control skills and team cohesion that makes up the enjoyment of football. But that wasn’t the case for another Falkirk fan when quite suddenly the first-time match goer heard a torrent of racial abuse being hurled past his hooded head, directed at Russell every time he touched or came near the ball,

'You BLACK this!! You f**king BLACK that!!! F**K YOU, YOU BLACK *******!!!! '

Hibs Midfielder Russell Latapy

To say that Lyndon was utterly shocked is an understatement. At ice hockey games back in multicultural Canada, there had certainly been some ribbing from fans any time the other team took possession of the puck, but never once had any teasing become racially abusive in nature. So to hear the Falkirk fan shouting racial slurs targeting the skin colour of the fellow Falkirk fan hooded in front of him was deeply unsettling. The truth though is that many Black footballers in 90s Scotland were subjected to the same incessant racism, and Russell Latapy was no exception.[2] Still, for the first half of the game, Lyndon did not confront the white Scottish racist behind him. Instead, the Black Canadian waited 45 minutes to halftime when he finally lifted his hood, turned around and said, ‘Excuse me, do you have a problem with that player?’ He asked as calmly as possible because being equally hostile was not the way to defuse the situation with this hostile man, particularly with family groups standing around. The Falkirk fan suddenly became less mouthy seeing the target of his racist abuse was not ‘safely’ far away on the pitch, but also right there in front of him in the stands. He soon disappeared, not to be seen for the remainder of the game. With him gone, other white fans surrounding Lyndon apologised by proxy for the wanton xenophobia…though none of those suddenly contrite Scots challenged the racism before knowing a Black fan was also present. It was quite a lesson for the Jamaican Canadian’s first Scottish football game…

Hibernian (Hibs) Easter Road Stadium

After that unsettling match, life went on for Lyndon in Scotland. As the years went by, he continued to do well at his Canadian company, again demonstrating that emigrating across the Atlantic had indeed been a sound career move. He also continued socialising with his colleagues, at one event meeting a white lady who was also Canadian. She turned out to be his future wife, and in 2008 they had a baby boy together. A very engaged father, Lyndon was intent on sharing his interests with his son, and that included sports. Come 2014, his son was 5 years old, so it was time for the youngster to experience the excitement of a live sports match. Almost 15 years had passed since that 1999 game with Russell Latapy, surely such racial intolerance in Scottish football had changed since then. To be on the safe side, Lyndon decided to buy Hibs tickets considering, as they’d already cheered on a Black player on their team, they’d surely be happy to cheer together with Black fans by their side. So he planned out the day, packed some snacks, wrapped up warm, got green & white team scarves, and off he and his son went to Scotland’s capital city to support their team.

Father and son racially abused at football matches

All started well as they arrived at the venue, had their tickets stubbed, walked to the Hibs stands and found a good vantage point to see the action between home team and visitors Dundee United. But amongst all the ovation as the players took the field, Lyndon’s heart sank as yet again he heard racist slurs being directed at the Black footballers. He had brought his young son to cheer on the champions for their sporting skills, yet the melanated players were being targeted for default scorn towards their dark skin. It was the opposite energy that he had wanted to expose his child to…made even worse when the racist slurs started being hurled directly at the Jamaican-Canadian himself and his 5-year-old son! What’s more, it was coming from their FELLOW HIBS FANS, bypassing the unifying colour of their scarves to abuse the contrasting colour of their skin. By that measure, racism in Scottish football had not gotten better over the years, in the mid-2010s it had in fact gotten worse. Hoping it could still have been a one-off, Lyndon tried a few more times to take his son to enjoy live football games, but each time they experienced the same xenophobia. So he eventually decided to stop taking his son to live matches lest they in the stands, the Black players on the pitch or both be racially abused by their fellow fans.

National Football Games

Hampden Park, Scottish National Stadium

It was disappointing to no longer engage with the Scottish national sport, but those were local games. Perhaps when it came to national games in Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, surely there would be a wider mix of people with broader world views. A match there would surely transcend any racial bigotry and simply focus on national unity. That was Lyndon’s thinking in 2015 when Hampden Park Stadium was hosting a major football game. He didn’t want to bypass the opportunity for his son to experience a sports event of that magnitude producing nothing short of a carnival atmosphere. So once again, he did the usual pre-match preparation, rode the train with his then 6-year-old boy and arrived at Glasgow Queen Street station. As the father and son walked through George Square carrying mini Scottish flags to wave during the game, a bunch of scowling white men came over to the excited pair and demanded,

‘Oi, what are YOU doing carrying THOSE flags?’

‘We’re going to the match in Hampden Park and we’re supporting Scotland!’, Lyndon replied with a smile.

His smile was not reciprocated, instead the white Scot indignantly retorted,

‘You CAN’T do that! YOU shouldn’t have THOSE FLAGS!’

Challenged for waving the St Andrews Cross

Both Lyndon and his son were stunned by this. Here the long-term Scottish resident had been thinking ‘We’ll wave the St Andrew’s Cross to support the national side of where we reside’. But those racists showed ill will to this melanated father and child for showing solidarity and goodwill towards Scotland, an unacceptable sentiment in their hateful eyes. Talking about ill will, let’s face it, that white xenophobe probably knew the Black man he was confronting wouldn’t fight back because he had a child with him, the discerned vulnerability emboldening him to be openly racist for all to see. Having sufficiently derided the dark-skinned Scotland fans, the racists moved on, as did Lyndon and his boy, their excitement for the impending game dampened from its previous fervour. They reached the stadium, entered the stands, found a spot, and watched the game, though perhaps not quite with the same enthusiastic flag waving as they’d planned that morning. The George Square encounter played on a loop in Lyndon’s mind, another demonstration that he was right to stop taking his son to local matches never mind national ones because racism permeates Scottish football. Its fans are just as adamant and indeed entertained lifting their voices to abuse Black people of all ages as they are cheering on their own team. For them, it seems that Black support is unwelcomed…or indeed is just plain ‘insulting’.

Aftershocks

Understandably, that last encounter was the last time Lyndon took his son to any football matches in Scotland. Instead, he now focuses on other sports for him and his son to enjoy.

NB: Lyndon’s experiences aptly demonstrates the racial hostility, bias and discrimination within local & national games outlined in the Scottish Racism in Football article. Read on for information on courses of action to challenge and overcome racism in this area.

~ by Abiọ́dún Ọlátòkunbọ̀ Abdul

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