John Barnes interview: ‘Banning people from stadiums will not stop racist behaviour’

The former England winger was a guest panellist at a Show Racism the Red Card event

Former England international John Barnes believes banning people from football grounds for racist behaviour will not tackle the underlying problem.

The Jamaica-born ex-Liverpool winger is a vocal campaigner on the issue of racism, and also wider forms of discrimination, and he believes despite progress being made in the last 30 years the way the problem is dealt with still leaves much to be desired.

“Just by saying it is wrong to be racist and saying we are going to arrest people and kick them out of stadiums does not stop them being racist,” he told Press Association Sport.

“Why should racism go away when we are not tackling it in the right way?

“We are influenced by what we see in the world and what we see in the world is certain people being considered more worthy than others – and we continue to see that.

Barnes kicks a banana thrown at him from the crowd at Goodison Park in 1988 (Getty) (Getty Images)

“There has been hundreds of years of indoctrination and conditioning for us to feel superior as white western Europeans to others.

“We have to deconstruct the idea of racial superiority.

“We have had it for hundreds of years so it is not going to happen overnight but we have to tackle it in the right way.”

Barnes was a guest panellist at a Show Racism the Red Card event for over a hundred schoolchildren at Anfield.

Barnes is a vocal campaigner on the issue of racism (Getty) (GETTY IMAGES)

“Of course I am hopeful for the future because we are now living in an environment which is much more homogeneous and you have black and white kids living together,” added Barnes, who famously backheeled a banana off the pitch which was thrown at him while playing for Liverpool in 1988.

“Kids now understand gender fluidity and homosexuality so it is not just about racism but discrimination generally.

“Younger generations will probably be more accepting of each others’ worth regardless of whether they are white, regardless of whether they are a woman, so the future does look bright.

“But this is relatively recently we are talking about a drive against discrimination.

“It’s going to take a long time but at least something is being done now.”

PA