Clubs must stop operating an “old boys’ network” and use objective processes to recruit managers and coaches, Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett has said.
A report from the Black Footballers Partnership in March found the number of management-related positions held by black employees rose by eight in 2022 compared with the previous year, from 49 among 1,338 individuals (3.7 per cent) to 57 individuals out of 1,304 in 2023 (4.4 per cent).
There are currently no black or minority ethnic managers in the Premier League following the sacking of Patrick Vieira at Crystal Palace.
Kick It Out wants football’s new independent regulator to oversee equality standards as part of a code of football governance and to compel clubs to share representation and recruitment data, with Burnett insisting far too much in football is going on in the shadows.
“Football is one of the last bastions of the old boys’ network, to be absolutely frank,” he told the PA news agency at the Include Summit in Manchester.
“It’s a tap on the shoulder quite often, who you know rather than what you know.
“When you look at the representation across football, what’s really clear is there is a myth of meritocracy.
“The best people aren’t getting jobs, whichever way you look at this, the best people, the most qualified people, are very frequently not getting the jobs. And so we want fair representation.”
Kick It Out wants to work with the football authorities to put an objective assessment process in place which guides recruiters, as happens in other industries like the financial sector.
“When clubs are recruiting a manager they would have a definitive list to pick from – people who’ve been through an objective process – rather than going off the recommendations of a mate of a mate, or an agent, and that’s what we’ve got to stop,” Burnett added.
“Football is one of the last industries around where a tap on the shoulder and who you know seems to drive your career path.
“It’s far too informal and it’s against modern recruitment standards. You’re not going to get the best people if it’s done in a way that isn’t objective.”
The Government’s White Paper on football governance published in February proposed that equality, diversity and inclusion would fall outside the new regulator’s immediate scope.
The paper said: “The industry has taken on greater accountability and the Government will continue to support reform in this space.”
However, Kick It Out and Burnett are insistent EDI matters must form part of the regulator’s final remit and is “expectant and determined” that they will.
“Football has been marking its own homework in this space for a long time,” he said.
“When football says ‘actually, leave us alone, we’re gonna get this right’ – well you haven’t got it right in the last 30 years so we’ve got no confidence you’re going to get it right now.
“This is a huge opportunity for us to put some compliance mechanisms around football to get it right.”
Burnett insists there remain big gaps in data related to EDI, both in terms of representation and the reporting of discrimination.
“We’ve got lots of different mechanisms in reporting when it comes to fan behaviour, 92 clubs all with separate reporting mechanisms, (Kick It Out) have a reporting mechanism, lots of other organisations do, but we never have a full picture of the data because the clubs aren’t mandated to share that,” he said.
“More importantly for us, we have no idea what the culture is like within the football environment.
“Because there is no compulsion for clubs to share internal discrimination reports, employee to employee for example, or employee against line manager, we have no idea what the extent of the problem is within football, and so we’ve no idea what sort of cultural problem we’ve got to tackle.
“It’s all right tackling diversity, but if we don’t try and make football a more inclusive culture, then there’s no point bringing more (diverse) people in, because they will leave.”
St. Louis City v LA Galaxy: Reus sets sights on silverware after dream start
Marco Reus is desperate to bring silverware to the LA Galaxy after making a flying start to his time in MLS, with St. Louis City the destination for his first road game on Sunday.
Reus registered a goal and an assist on debut last week as the Galaxy beat Atlanta United 2-0, maintaining their grip on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy are five points clear of local rivals Los Angeles FC at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday's trip to St. Louis, who are 13th and 10 points adrift of the playoff picture.
Reus' arrival in Los Angeles has caused plenty of fanfare, but he is focused solely on the team's collective aims.
"It's not about me, it's about the team," he said. "We want to be champions. So we take it game by game.
"Besides the traffic, it's really amazing. The people are so friendly. The weather, it's really nice. When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, you start the day differently.
"So I'm really, really happy every morning I come into the dressing room. I'm just happy and excited."
St. Louis played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with the Portland Timbers last week, twice throwing away a two-goal lead to leave interim coach John Hackworth bewildered.
"Really don't know what to say," Hackworth said. "It's hard to imagine coming to a place like this and scoring four goals, being up, and then just losing one-versus-one defensive battles.
"Sometimes, the number of goals you give up, or the number of goals you score, can hide a lot of the transition moments.
"An easy way to prevent some of these defensive miscues from happening is to just be better with the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Eduard Lowen
Lowen scored his fourth goal of the MLS season last time out, converting from the penalty spot as St. Louis drew 4-4 with the Timbers.
Only Joao Klauss, with five goals, has outscored him for St. Louis this term.
LA Galaxy – Marco Reus
Reus is one of 20 players in MLS history to record a goal and an assist on his regular-season debut.
He is also the fifth Galaxy player to do so, after Steven Gerrard, Andreas Herzog, Giovani dos Santos and Sasha Victorine. No other team have had more than two players achieve the feat.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Galaxy have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season matches, the first time they have done so in a single season since 2011. LA have not recorded 11 wins in a span of 14 matches within a single regular season in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
It would be no surprise to see the points shared in this one, though. All three meetings between St. Louis and the Galaxy have ended level, all with different scorelines (1-1, 2-2, 3-3).
St. Louis have only won one of the last six matches in which they have held the lead in regular-season play dating back to the beginning of June (four draws, one defeat).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 35.8%
LA Galaxy – 38.1%
Draw – 26.1%
Raphinha hails Barcelona after statement win over Valladolid
Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.
Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick's side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: "Today's game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.
"We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today's result shows what we are working for.
"We saw that the coach was on the sidelines asking for more goals and that's our mentality.
"We are hungry and want to score as many goals as we can. When we are dominant like we have been, the best way to respect our rivals is not taking the foot off the gas."
Raphinha was one of the players who faced criticism during Barca's trophyless 2023-24 campaign and was rumoured to be on his way out ahead of the new season.
The Blaugrana again battled financial restrictions throughout the window, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to leave in order to secure the registration of new arrival Dani Olmo.
With his future now certain, Raphinha is keen to nail down a starting spot and contribute on a regular basis.
"I don't know if today's was my best game, but it's certainly among my best. I will try to play even better and as much as I can," the Brazilian said.
"I'm very happy to be able to help the team. I feel good. I knew that this season would be very important for me. I'm looking for my best version to help my team-mates and be more confident."
Lazio 2-2 Milan: Leao salvages draw but Rossoneri still winless
Rafael Leao came off the bench to earn Milan a 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, but Paulo Fonseca's side are still without a Serie A win this season.
Milan were in front at the break through Strahinja Pavlovic's eighth-minute goal, the Serbian rising highest to power home a header from Christian Pulisic's corner.
However, Lazio hit back in the second half with Valentin Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scoring in quick succession.
Nuno Tavares' first-time ball into the centre was met by the unmarked Castellanos to level in the 62nd minute, then Dia tapped another Tavares cutback home to put the Biancocelesti ahead four minutes later.
Fonseca reacted by sending on four substitutes, and those changes had a swift impact as three of them combined for the leveller.
Theo Hernandez – who joined Leao in being dropped from the start – picked out Tammy Abraham, and his lay-off allowed Leao to escape Tavares to fire past Ivan Provedel.
The game was preceded by an emotional tribute to the man who led Lazio to their last league title, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died at the age of 76 on Monday.
A Lazio shirt bearing the Swede's name was displayed on the home bench, while a banner held up by the home fans read: "You brought us to the top of the world... Have a good trip Mr. Sven."
Data Debrief: Milan's slow start continues
New Milan boss Fonseca is already under pressure after overseeing a return of two points from his first three league games at the helm.
It is the first time the Rossoneri have drawn two of their opening three matches in a Serie A season since 2011-12, when they also drew two and lost one,
They went on to finish second that season, just four points adrift of champions Juventus. If a title challenge is to take place this term, rapid improvements are needed.
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