The Guardian: Newcastle fans held racist protests about Andy Cole's signing

[Thespence]

Siaylor has had a mare

[Guest malandro]

It seems pretty clear that he made it up to add a bit of drama to the story. His explanation for it is laughable.

They should publish a full transcript of the interview.

[Guest]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/may/27/corrections-clarifications

 

 A piece about an initiative to foster young Asian footballers made a historical reference to racism in the game, and quoted an interviewee recalling that when Andrew Cole made his debut at Newcastle United's St James' Park, "There were protests outside the ground. But Andy scored a hat-trick that day and we heard no more from the protesters." To clarify, this referred to Cole's first home game (his debut had been at Swindon). The player scored a goal, not a hat-trick. The reference to protests suggested there were demonstrations; rather, the speaker was referring to accounts from eyewitnesses at the match who reported seeing suspected National Front agitators handing out racist literature outside the ground. The interviewee asks us to note that the context for his quote was a discussion of the positive role of fans and respected players in overcoming racism in the game: "The point I was making was in praise of Newcastle fans who shunned a few people at the time who were attempting to stir up trouble" (Search for a British Asian soccer star kicks off, 26 May, page 2, Society).

[binnsy]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/may/27/corrections-clarifications

 

 A piece about an initiative to foster young Asian footballers made a historical reference to racism in the game, and quoted an interviewee recalling that when Andrew Cole made his debut at Newcastle United's St James' Park, "There were protests outside the ground. But Andy scored a hat-trick that day and we heard no more from the protesters." To clarify, this referred to Cole's first home game (his debut had been at Swindon). The player scored a goal, not a hat-trick. The reference to protests suggested there were demonstrations; rather, the speaker was referring to accounts from eyewitnesses at the match who reported seeing suspected National Front agitators handing out racist literature outside the ground. The interviewee asks us to note that the context for his quote was a discussion of the positive role of fans and respected players in overcoming racism in the game: "The point I was making was in praise of Newcastle fans who shunned a few people at the time who were attempting to stir up trouble" (Search for a British Asian soccer star kicks off, 26 May, page 2, Society).

 

what a crock of shit!

[Bowie]

Aye, utter shite. Was there much commotion over what George Best said at the time btw?

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

Wonder what Isaiah Rankin makes of all this! He has to be amongst one of the first Asian parentage footballers? He seemed to be with Bradford for ages. I asked my mate Vinay about this and he simply said that Asian kids grow up and play Cricket rather than football. Its their national sport, which made sense.

[NJS]

The reason I don't accept his explanation is that as a sad fact of history, I can't imagine NF agitators in Newcastle who weren't football fans - the two tended to overlap from the NF side.

 

 

[Liam Liam Liam O]

No apology whatsoever then.

[David Icke - Son of God]

I have a tendancy to believe him giving how piss poor the article is aside from that quote.

[Aphrodite]

Harry Pearson's (excellent) book The Far Corner also mentions the NF trying to stir up trouble over the Cole signing.

[madras]

Harry Pearson's (excellent) book The Far Corner also mentions the NF trying to stir up trouble over the Cole signing.

does it mention any protests ?

 

i've read it several times and don't remember any protests.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

So basically the story here is that the National Front are, on occasions, a bit racist?

[Big Geordie]

I remember (as a kid) the NF trying to peddle their filth outside of the Gallowgate End, during the early 80's. I too remember some of the baiting of the likes of Bobby Barnes and John Barnes though I was too young to understand what it was all about. St James wasn't alone in having those problems at the time and thankfully they were eradicated to hopefully never return.

[BlueStar]

My dad was in a pub last night with ssn with the sound off and they were showing a photo of Cole while talking about something, dunno if it was this.

[OzzieMandias]

That's interesting.

[Guest palnese]

[Cajun]

My dad was in a pub last night with ssn with the sound off and they were showing a photo of Cole while talking about something, dunno if it was this.

 

Did he start shouting "wog" at the tv? Typical racist Newcastle fans! 

[Guest tyzer]

My dad was in a pub last night with ssn with the sound off and they were showing a photo of Cole while talking about something, dunno if it was this.

 

They were interviewing Cole and Dwight Yorke and talking about England Strikers.

[Aphrodite]

Harry Pearson's (excellent) book The Far Corner also mentions the NF trying to stir up trouble over the Cole signing.

does it mention any protests ?

 

i've read it several times and don't remember any protests.

 

Doesn't mention protests, was mainly handing out leaflets I think. Great book though.

[madras]

Harry Pearson's (excellent) book The Far Corner also mentions the NF trying to stir up trouble over the Cole signing.

does it mention any protests ?

 

i've read it several times and don't remember any protests.

 

Doesn't mention protests, was mainly handing out leaflets I think. Great book though.

t'is laugh out loud funny.

[OzzieMandias]

And now of course he writes for... The Guardian!

[Wallace]

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/brian-mcnally/Why-The-Guardian-and-Chelsea-s-Simon-Taylor-need-to-get-their-facts-right-before-accusing-Newcastle-fans-of-racism-The-Brian-McNally-Column-article441725.html

 

Why Chelsea's Simon Taylor needs to get his facts right before accusing Newcastle fans of racism

By Brian McNally

 

Published 12:53 29/05/10

 

Nowhere in England has the fight against racism in football been more spectacularly successful than Tyneside.

 

So it is hardly surprising that the Toon Army have reacted with fury to an error-strewn comment in The Guardian that Newcastle fans protested outside St James' Park in 1993 before the home debut of the club's first major black signing, Andy Cole.

 

The comment attributed to Chelsea's grandiosely-titled head of corporate social responsibility Simon Taylor claimed: "There were protests outside the ground. But Andy scored a hat-trick that day and we heard no more from the protesters."

 

As one of the 30,000 crowd who packed St James' Park that March afternoon I immediately recognised that the statement attributed to Taylor was not only wildly inaccurate, but also a shameful slur on the Newcastle fans who had in fact afforded their record £1.75million signing from Bristol City a tumultuous welcome.

 

Cole's debut had in fact come at Swindon in a 2-1 defeat where he did not score- a 4-0 win over Notts County was his home debut and he scored one goal not a hat-trick.

 

Both The Guardian and Taylor have since launched a damage-limitation exercise to quell the furore created by the embarrassing gaffe. The online version of the article was amended to remove the offending quote, a clarification of the comment was issued, while the Chelsea employee claimed his words were used out of context.

 

But, as the Newcastle Supporters Trust wryly observed earlier, Taylor "has to be admired in getting so much wrong in so few words."

 

Taylor tells us he lived in Newcastle for seven years, but it appears that the pride and passion Geordies have for both their football team and their city passed him by.

 

How else can you explain his attempt to gloss over a ridiculous comment that has been exposed as pure fiction with the claim his words were taken out of context?

 

Or his weak response to the Newcastle Supporters Trust: "I do hope this email helps to explain the context of the quotes and I can only apologise if anyone has taken offence.

 

"I have subsequently spoken to the Guardian newspaper and it has agreed to issue a clarification."

 

Forget context. Forget clarification. The claims made were totally and utterly factually wrong. End of Story.

 

The pathetic attempts to explain them away have only created a bigger chasm between The Guardian, Taylor and the fans of Newcastle United.

 

Newcastle fans are justifiably proud of their reputation in fighting the evils of racism.

 

It was during Kevin Keegan's time as a player on Tyneside between 1982 and 1984 that the Toon Army proved that they really were black and white by kicking the racists out of St James' Park.

 

Racism was rampant at football grounds throughout the land, and, as Viv Anderson vividly described, Newcastle had a bad reputation.

 

But thanks to brave and visionary men such as Keegan, the dark days when the National Front sold their hate-filled rag Bulldog outside the Gallowgate end and opposition black players were routinely booed , jeered and subjected to monkey chants were consigned to history.

 

And it was perhaps fitting in a region that so spectacularly rejected race-based hatred that the anti-racist educational charity Show Racism The Red Card began its life on Tyneside.

 

Indeed, SRTRC grew out of a £50 donation from former Newcastle United keeper Shaka Hislop in 1995 to a Tyneside anti-racism campaign in Newcastle.

 

Founder Ged Grebby a lifelong Toon fan built the massive campaign from a small office in Whitley Bay. Grebby is immensely proud that Newcastle fans successfully rehabilitated the reputation they had for racism and helped spread the gospel of tolerance far and wide.

 

But it seems to me that Taylor and The Guardian still have absolutely no idea why those two sentences in an otherwise praiseworthy article highlighting the role of Asian players in English football have created such an unfavourable reaction on Tyneside.

 

The revelation that Taylor hadn't actually seen any protests, but relied on the account of "eye-witnesses" only dug an even deeper hole.

 

And, quite why, he cited an example of racism at Newcastle to illustrate his point rather than his own club Chelsea riled many Geordie fans.

 

Like many Newcastle fans, I was at Stamford Bridge on the shameful day when Chelsea fans aimed their racial hatred at one of their own black players, Paul Cannoville.

 

It was one of the most shocking examples of racism I have witnessed in four decades of covering football and one that was certainly more disturbing than anything I ever saw at Newcastle when racism was at its peak.

 

I have absolutely no doubt that Taylor did not intend to denigrate Newcastle fans and that his intention was to show how racism could be beaten. But, somewhere during his conversation with the Guardian the facts went out the window.

 

If Taylor wants to make peace with the good people of Tyneside then may I suggest he publicly displays "corporate social responsibility" in action by issuing an unreserved and unequivocal apology.

 

[David Icke - Son of God]

Fucking hell, I didn't expect an article that scathing from Mackemnally.

[OzzieMandias]

Good article!

[jdckelly]

christ a good article from mcmackem.

suppose credits where its due though i still feel shit about saying that