John Barnes slams Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker for staying silent on racism
Former Liverpool winger John Barnes believes his ex-England international teammate and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has not done enough to speak out against racism.
Barnes and Lineker starred at two World Cups for England together, playing for the Three Lions at Mexico 1986 and Italy 1990. Since then, Lineker has gone on to become the face of BBC Sport, with the former Spurs striker having hosted the broadcaster's flagship football show Match of the Day since 1999.
Never shy to voice his opinions, Lineker was involved in a high-profiled spat with former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman after the former footballer turned broadcaster called language she had used about migrants as reminiscent of 1930's Germany.
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While Lineker was suspended by the BBC and taken off air for a week from Match of the Day, he was later re-instated, and continues to front the coverage of the programme.
Recently whilst speaking to a Labour Party conference event host by the charity Show Racism The Red Card, Barnes claimed there were white football pundits who had not done enough to tackle racism. Barnes said at the event: "If Gary Lineker or anyone asks me, I say ‘Don’t ask me what I think. What do you think? Because you are the ones who can make the difference’.
"Let Gary Lineker, let whoever else who are the real movers and shakers, let them start talking. We need you to say it, because if you think it’s wrong, say it’s wrong and tell me why it’s wrong. Because you haven’t even thought about why it’s wrong, because it doesn’t affect your life."
Then, speaking after the event, Barnes launched into more detail, telling the Telegraph: "You cannot use black people to cure the ills of racism. And the more you use black people at the front and centre of the debate, the worse it will become.
"Because a lot of people, first of all, think you're playing the race card to begin with. And they say, 'There you are on television, making money, and now you are blaming white working-class people who haven’t got a job'. Now if Gary Lineker is going to say on television that this is wrong and this is why it’s wrong, that is going to carry more weight than a black person saying it."
Barnes continued: "I tell you, they [white football pundits] have a lot of opinions as to everything else. But when it comes to racism, they haven’t got an opinion. They obviously don’t feel strongly, because they will have an opinion as to other things.
"And they do have an opinion. But you know the opinion they’ll have? Most of them have the opinion that it’s not important."
"They say, ‘Well, it’s not up to us. Tell us what you think, because you’re being affected by it’. Anybody on TV who is talking to black players, [asking] ‘What about that racism when the banana came on the field, or you heard some racist abuse, what do you think?’ Never mind about that. What do you think? Don’t ask Micah Richards and Thierry Henry. [Ask] Roy Keane: ‘What do you think, Roy?’ Why do they keep quiet?"