Wenger on 'stupid' racism

Wenger has called for more action and punishment to be dealt out against the perpetrators of racism.

The Gunners boss said,

“Against stupidity, the best way is information, knowledge of things and examples of behaviour, of attitudes. That is much more efficient than punishment, but you have to do both because some behaviours cannot be tolerated.”

The Arsenal manager suggested that the old caveat ‘knowledge is power’ really does apply to the world of football and sport in a broader context. But he still feels there is more work to be done to fight its prevalence.

“It is not only racism, black and white, it is against all kinds of insults we still have in the stadiums. We must fight more against it.”

The Arsenal manager claimed that ‘tribalism’ in sport is the underlying issue, not racism, specifically and suggested that sport is somewhat of a microcosm of society overall.

“You are insulted because you are not in their clan. That is a kind of discrimination. There is still a lot to do, but I think it's good society fights against it. It is getting better, but it is never won."

In light of a number of well documented and high profile cases in recent weeks, months, and years, racism has come under the spotlight and, whilst authorities such as the FA and FIFA claim they are doing all they can to stamp it out of the game, many are still unconvinced that they are sincere.

One such individual is Jason Roberts of Reading who has stated his refusal to wear a Kick It Out shirt on Saturday against Liverpool. He has underlined his belief that the relevant authorities are not doing enough to tackle the issue.

But Wenger suggested that Roberts’ intended protest this weekend might not be the best way to solve the problem. Rather, he believes, everyone must work together with the authorities against racism, instead of protesting against the authorities.

"I feel that [black players] are the main targets and if they do not join in it makes the whole thing not efficient and not credible. We need all to fight together against that," he continued:

"They have faced the most abuse, so I think it is important they are on board. If they feel the punishments are not hard enough they have to express that in a different way, but I think that it would be sad if they do not join in."