Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari has hit out at “lazy racist stereotyping” after a Crystal Palace scout’s feedback about South Asian households on LinkedIn.
Michael Verguizas, who’s lead pre-academy scout at Crystal Palace, wrote: “Asian families put all their efforts into education plus their [sic] more aligned to the game of cricket… Don’t think it’s pushed in their families or in their culture…Boys following this sport are far and few in this industry”.
The remark was criticised on social media after initially being known as out by on-line followers’ platform Desi Ballers, who questioned how lengthy Verguizas has held these views, including “this ain’t even unconscious bias”.
Bhandari, who has simply been appointed MBE for companies to sport within the King’s New 12 months’s Honours Listing, supplied his personal evaluation.
He wrote on social media: “Wow. This is some lazy racist stereotyping that does not align with grassroots participation data from someone with authority over the player pathway… is he a relic from the 1970s?”
Researcher and educational Dr Stefan Lawrence stated: “Yet further evidence of the nonsense that exists in football discourse about [South] Asian players. People in the game should be doing much better by now. No excuses.”
Kick It Out’s chair added: “We know these things are said and the attitude pervades. They rarely leave an actionable evidence trail. The unusual bit is having the confidence/ignorance to commit that thought to writing in a public platform.”
Campaigner and former cricketer Azeem Rafiq additionally criticised the feedback on X, formally generally known as Twitter.
He stated: “Welcome to 2024 – these people decide the future of our kids.”
Verguizas, who has beforehand labored in youth expertise identification roles at Tottenham, Arsenal, Brentford and Charlton, was responding to former Cheltenham City supervisor Chris Robinson on LinkedIn.
Sky Sports activities Information has contacted Crystal Palace for remark.
FA Council Member Yashmin Harun BEM wrote on social media: “This is exactly the point I make in every discussion – the gatekeepers within football are some of our biggest barriers, and they need to be outed for the views they hold.
“Sadly he isn’t the primary and he will not be the one one with these views…”
British South Asians in Soccer
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