Chris Hughton states that more needs to be done to increase Black and Minority Ethnic managers in the modern game

Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster shows that racism is still prevalent in the modern game and Brighton manager Chris Hughton thinks more needs to be done to get more Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) managers in to the game and finally kick racism out, writes Charlotte Duncker.

Brighton manager Chris Hughton thinks the pathway for black managers to get into top jobs has become too difficult and has called on the game’s stakeholders to make changes.

The former Spurs defender is the only black manager in the Premier League and believes that other BAME managers aren’t being given a fair chance.

Speaking to The Offside Rule Exclusives he said: “I have seen and spoken to many BAME coaches who would be very good managers but they feel the pathway has become too difficult for them.

“The obstacles they have to get through are too much to make progress.

“The difficulty is very good perceived applicants are not even getting through to the interview stage.”

 

 

A study in 2015 said it would be 30 years before the number of BAME managers and coaches are properly represented in the English game and Hughton thinks it’s time the authorities in the game stepped in.

“The enthusiasm for it to change has increased,” he said. “It’s been spoken about far more often than what it has been in the past.

“Our stakeholders have spoken about it, from the FA to the League Managers Association to the Premier League. They have all spoken about it but there has been very little change in the last few years. And the responsibility has to be with the stakeholders.”

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The game has come a long way since Hughton made his debut for Spurs in 1977 with representation of BAME coaches improving at grassroots level. But Hughton wants to see it filter through to the top, he explained:

“Certainly at grassroots and academy level there has been a significant change.

“The next step, and arguably the most important, that’s the most visual step is looking at the Premier League.”

In his 16-year playing career Hughton experienced various forms of racism on and off the pitch and while it has improved since the 1970s and 1980s Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster account of the racism he has endured recently has shown there’s still a long way to go.

Kick it Out have said there’s been a rise in hate speech and intolerance especially towards Muslim and Asian people in the game since Brexit and Hughton’s called for it all to come to an end.

“We are going through the game at a difficult period and it’s something you desperately don’t want to see,” he said.

“It is very much a surprise in this day and age when so many good people have worked as hard as they have.

“The acceptance level towards BAME and racism has changed and that has to be the same tolerance levels with Muslim and Asian people.

Follow Charlotte on Twitter @CharDuncker

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Launched in 2017, The Offside Rule Exclusives is our Webby-nominated monthly podcast hosted by Lynsey Hooper, Kait Borsay, and Hayley McQueen. It features in-depth interviews with some of the biggest names in football like Phil Neville, Jermaine Defoe, and Casey Stoney.