Dilemma stares Leeds in the face after stars’ racist attack on Asian youth

Under the guidance of David O’Leary who refers, somewhat jarringly, to his players as `my babies’ Leeds have defied all odds to string together a run of good results and maintain their place at the top of the league table. Now, however, their world faces animplosion.

The irony is that the club had done so much to tackle racism among its supporters. Two decades ago, Leeds fans, along with those of Millwall and West Ham, were among the worst in the country, National Front members donning a sporting guise for the occasion. Then the clubs took matters in hand and, with the help of the government, the Professional Footballers’ Association and the supporters’ network, began to clean up the game.

The process was helped, ironically, by the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters, the fallout of which was tough action to make football a family game once again. As all-seater stadiums replaced the terraces, opportunities for violence inside grounds decreased. They existed, of course, on the streets, which is where Woodgate and Bowyer allegedly assaulted Sarfraz Najieb.

The dilemma staring Leeds in the face is what to do with the players. Club chairman Peter Ridsdale has laid cards squarely on the table by saying action will be taken if their involvement is proved, butrevealed truer colours by saying if and when it came to the crunch, shareholders’ and supporters’ interests would be kept in mind. In effect, the players would remain at Elland Road. What price the club’s anti-racism stand then?

The incident has, understandably, upset the sizeable Asian community in Yorkshire. Leeds have a large following within the community, and the murmurs of disgust have found echoes in Bradford, Sheffield and Halifax.

Contrary to popular opinion, football is hugely popular within the community, though this hasn’t translated into representation in professional football a la cricket. Soon after the Leeds incident, I read Corner Flags and Corner Shops, an excellent study of the Asian football experience in Britain. The authors, Jas Bains and Sanjiev Johal, point to the vicious circle that exists in the minds of football administrators: Asians can’t play, so there’s no point tapping them for talent. And because Asians don’t get exposure not even at inter-city schools levels they don’tget the Big Break. And why can’t they play? Because of their physique, never mind the success of Juninho or Ossie Ardiles…

The loss, ultimately, is the clubs’. Even if not in terms of sheer footballing talent, but at least in marketing terms. Remember, South Asians are one of the largest minority groups, concentrated in the Midlands — Leicester, Birmingham, Wolverhampton — and the north (what used to be Yorkshire and Lancashire). They already attend football matches in strength, but imagine what that turnout — and all related spin-offs — would be if one of their own was playing…

Which brings me to Football India, a conference on the past, present and future of the game here, to be held in Northampton in July. Speakers, including Sanjiev Johal, Bill Adams of New Delhi’s Super Soccer Academy and Arunava Chaudhuri of the Unofficial Indian Football Site, will deal with several topics including the future of football among the Indian diaspora. And, obviously, high on the agenda will be a modus oftackling football-related racism.

Jayaditya Gupta can be contacted on e-mail at: joygupta@express2.indexp.co.inTrack Record
Those of you who watched Man U vs Arsenal on Monday night would have noted several references to the Player Cam. This is the latest service on digital TV (Sky Digital), making television even more interactive, in which the camera picks up one player and tracks his every move, on the ball and off it, for the next 15 minutes, and offers a range of related statistics. This in the case of Roy Keane (who, incidentally, has made the most number of passes 900 by any Premiership player so far this season) or Patrick Viera would be a treat to watch; not so, perhaps, Jaap Stam or the rather predictable David Beckham. The only embarrassment came when Andy Cole was substituted in the middle of his 15 minutes of fame; the camera gracefully avoided close-ups of the subs’ bench.