Has the FA missed a trick in fighting racism?

It has been a long time coming. The last few years have been a low point in British football’s efforts to punish people who use racist language.  Not least because to the football watching public the fines and bans handed down appear to be inconsistent.

Consider the various cases of Luis Suarez – in he was 2011 banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 for repeatedly calling a black player “negrita” and then fatuously claiming in his defence that it was a term of endearment.  Yet in another incident this year he was given a much tougher penalty – a ten match ban – for biting an opponent.

And then former England captain John Terry – who last year was banned for four matches and fined £220,000 for using the words “f****** black c***” in an argument with a black player. Terry’s explanation was that the case against him was mistaken. 

Although his words were clearly visible on TV footage, he claimed he was saying it in “sarcastic exclamation”.  The magistrate who heard his criminal case said although it was an “unlikely” explanation there was not enough proof to convict.

In this sense the FA disciplinary proceedings are akin to a regular court, where a judge or magistrate will have to weigh a number of issues before deciding on the sentence.  No two cases are ever the same. And does the public not forever question the jail terms handed out by judges?

So any measures to clarify and standardise the FA sanctions are a clearly good thing.  But the decision making process is a judgement call at all levels.

The big picture, the issue that will garner the headlines, is the FA looks set not to follow UEFA by introducing a mandatory ten match ban. They will probably opt for a five match minimum, albeit with an escalating scale depending on the seriousness of the offence.

That won’t stop anti racism campaigners from saying the FA are missing a trick by not sending out the strongest possible message.  For years the FA have been one of the more progressive governing bodies when it comes to challenging racism in the higher echelons of the game. But by not going for ten they will be seen to be ceding the moral high ground.

And the politics don’t end with perceptions. The FA are voting on many matters today – not just stiffer penalties for racist abuse.  And navigating the group that will vote, the “FA shareholders”, has never been an easy task.  A motley crew comprising County associations, the Leagues, the players, managers and supporters associations.

On anti racism initiatives however they really should be united as one.

Follow Keme Nzerem on Twitter: @nzerem_c4