The sport has a duty to
police racism within its own boundaries but this divisiveness comes directly from elected politicians“Ladies and gentleman, this is a security announcement Racism is interfering with the game.” You can say that again. Welcome to Great
Britain, 2019, a place of division and ugliness, a place where a
Premier League football match can end with eight minutes of added time for time‑wasting, VAR and monkey chants; and a place where racist behaviour is most definitely interfering with the game.
![English football has in the past been willing to lead: it needs to lead here | Barney Ronay](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/02cc6341779649f27912cc3c6914abb66fe3f389/0_32_2546_1528/master/2546.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=20a1bcd8b85ce47913647bf5c2b8fb61)
This was a wretched occasion for
Tottenham in ways that go some way beyond a 2-0 home defeat by an impressive
Chelsea team. You can raze the old structures, you can build a beautiful, gleaming stadium. Unfortunately, what you fill it with may not match the modernising dream.