FA must issue racism rate card as Rodriguez faces five-match ban

Football has a severe imbalance when it comes to racism. The differing lengths of bans for abuse doesn’t even scratch the surface of a wider issue, something it’s high time is looked at if one of the game’s evils is to be wiped out.

West Bromwich Albion’s Jay Rodriguez faces a five-match ban after being charged with racially abusing Brighton player Gaetan Bong on January 13.

The striker, whose England career would almost certainly be in tatters if he is found to have said, as accused, ‘you’re black and you stink’ to the 29-year-old, strongly denies any wrongdoing.

READ MORE: Saints hold on to worsen Pardew’s woes

READ MORE: Win over West Brom reinforces Southampton’s identity, Pellegrino claims

READ MORE: Gossip – Blow for Mahrez as City look at Dybala

Nobody is pre-judging the outcome, everyone is innocent until proven guilty of course though the length of any potential suspension is cause for great debate.

A quick Yahoo search on the subject opens up a base for an important discussion.

Racially

Bans for racism in football have usually been set at between five matches and 10. So to clarify, it appears that if you are found guilty of racially abusing a football player, the most you can expect is to stay at home for two months – give or take?

Incorrect. The most you can expect is to stay at home for two months if you are privileged to being paid something like £20,000-a-week to abuse a football player over the colour of his skin.

If you pay £20 for the right to come in and do so, your ban stands at five years.

Football fan Christopher Boyes, from Southampton, shouted a racial insult at Brentford forward Ollie Watkins as he took a corner in their game with Derby County at the start of the season.

You wouldn’t argue he shouldn’t be welcome at any football ground. You wouldn’t say the ban is excessive, but the bigger question remains – why do footballers have to pay a tiny percentage of the price of the man on the street?

Questions too about further punishment. Boyes was sentenced for a racially aggravated public order offence when he appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court a few months on from the Championship fixture.

Not only was he banned from football stadia but he was hit with a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work.

Again, fully justified. But why does it become a criminal matter if such deplorable words are spoken yards to the side of the pitch, and not on it?

READ MORE: Why Palace are still in serious trouble

READ MORE: England stars allowed holiday before World Cup

Why does it seem that a Football Association court is a reasonable replacement for the real thing if you’re coming out with something equally as distressing, just because you have boots on?

If Rodriguez, the 28-year-old striker who is back to form after a number of year of injury misery, cops a five-game ban it would seriously dent West Brom’s Premier League survival hopes.

If he is found guilty, he should count his lucky stars players are treated so differently to the rest of us. He’ll be back by March.

Yet surely the time is right to address the imbalance that exists over the advertising hoardings.