The Duke of Cambridge, President of the Football Association, has sent out a series of tweets condemning racism in the sport following an avalanche of abuse towards black players on social media.
Posting from the Kensington Palace Twitter account, Prince William wrote: “Racist abuse – whether on the pitch, in the stands, or on social media – is despicable and it must stop now.
“We all have a responsibility to create an environment where such abuse is not tolerated, and those who choose to spread hate and division are held accountable for their actions. That responsibility extends to the platforms where so much of this activity now takes place.
“I commend all those players, supporters, clubs and organisations who continue to call out and condemn this abuse in the strongest terms. – W”
Prince William has been President of the FA, the governing body of English football, since May 2006.
In that time, he has constantly spoken out against racism and has backed high profile anti-discrimination campaigns such as Kick It Out.
Prince William has vowed “enough is enough” as he plans to take on racist thugs who abuse footy players.
The Duke of Cambridge called an emergency meeting with figureheads and campaigners to devise plans on how a “multi agency partnership” can work together to stamp out sickening racism in football.
In his role as President of the Football Association, William urged the need for a “root and branch” assessment of how players and fans can deal with vile racists, after an explosion in “despicable” abuse aimed at the game’s biggest stars.
Aston Villa fanatic William believes more pressure needs to be put on the big tech giants to act instead of turning a blind eye.
William on Tuesday summoned Mark Bullingham, CEO of the FA, to discuss plans for an inquiry into the outbreak of racism in recent years, often through social media channels.
Rugby League chiefs are said to be keen for Prince William to take over his brother’s role as the royal face of the sport. It comes after Prince Harry was stripped of his royal duties when he and his wife Meghan Markle stepped away from the family to pursue a more independent life. That means the Duke of Sussex will no longer be the patron of the Rugby Football League (RFL) and Rugby Football Union (RFU). The patronages have returned to the Queen temporarily but are set to be redistributed to other working royals – and William is thought to be favourite for the role. Rugby league’s bosses are hopeful for a big name to put the sport in the limelight ahead of this autumn’s World Cup, which is being hosted by the north of England from October. The Telegraph reports that the RFL is hoping that William will be given the role. A source close to senior figures at the RFL told the paper: ‘The World Cup is going to take place in the north of England, which is very significant at this time and very important for the royal household to acknowledge and get behind, particularly as it will be happening in many towns where major events are not usually held, such as St Helens, Doncaster and Hull. ‘The Duke of Sussex was a high profile figure who embraced the World Cup and we hope the next appointment will be a continuation of that.’
Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2021/02/21/rugb...m-harry-as-royal-patron-14121162/?ito=cbshare
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I'm not saying this just because I'm from Manchester, and Liverpool is our rival city. Half my family are from Liverpool.
The city of Liverpool is probably the most left-wing, anti-establishment part of England, During the 1980s, Liverpool city council was known as the Loony Left.
I don't think the issue was with Abide With Me: it's as much a football song as a hymn. No-one thinks of it as a Christian hymn: it's the Wembley song. The booing was against the Establishment, not the hymn.
What happened was disgraceful, and has been condemned by Members of Parliament from all parties.
You beat me to it! Thank you for giving the historical context.
Liverpool has an interesting history. Similar to Glasgow in so many ways - slave trade, famine driven large scale Irish settlement, bitter sectarianism, radical politics, grim deprivation & economic decline.
None of this surprises at all. It wasn't William they were booing, they were having a go at a representative of the rf. It wouldn't have mattered who'd turned up.
Many would boo The Queen herself if they got the chance.
Thanks Durham for this important distinction. While immaterial to the behavior, it is important to note that there is a massive difference in terms of the messaging were it to be an individual person being booed as that person, as opposed to what was taking place here.
From Wiki
Since the 1927 FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Cardiff City, the first and last verses of the hymn ‘Abide With Me’ are traditionally sung at the FA Cup Final about 15 minutes before the kick-off of the match.[23] It has also been sung prior to the kick-off at every Rugby League Challenge Cup Final since 1929.[24
I'm not saying this just because I'm from Manchester, and Liverpool is our rival city. Half my family are from Liverpool.
The city of Liverpool is probably the most left-wing, anti-establishment part of England, During the 1980s, Liverpool city council was known as the Loony Left.
I don't think the issue was with Abide With Me: it's as much a football song as a hymn. No-one thinks of it as a Christian hymn: it's the Wembley song. The booing was against the Establishment, not the hymn.
What happened was disgraceful, and has been condemned by Members of Parliament from all parties.
Jeering at a christian hymn in a country that was staunchly christian for many hundreds of years (and whose head of state is a devoted christian) until to 20 or 30 years... What caused this, well I don´t want to go any further..."Prince William was booed by sections of the crowd as he appeared on the pitch before the FA Cup final at Wembley.
The jeering started when the Duke of Cambridge, who is the president of the Football Association, was introduced to fans during the pre-match BBC television coverage.
Fans also jeered during God Save The Queen and a rendition of Christian hymn Abide With Me."
That Christian hymn does not belong in a football stadium where the overwhelming majority is practically atheist, muslim, hindu, jew, humanist, whatever.
But you can´t "boo" your own national anthem, can you?
The problem for people against the monarchy is they have to chant a royal hymn if they want to sing their national anthem. In Britain, unlike in the scandinavian monarchies, royal and national anthem is one and the same.
To do such a thing in The Queen´s milestone jubilee year is disgraceful, indeed!