Racism in football ‘hurts’ efforts to bring in ethnic minority players – Riz Rehman

Racist incidents will ‘hurt’ efforts to bring more players and coaches from ethnic minorities into football at grassroots level, says one of the game’s most prominent Asian figures.

Riz Rehman, 36, is the brother of Zesh, the first Asian to play in all four top divisions of the English pyramid.

Riz has been appointed chairman of the Surrey FA’s Inclusion Advisory Group.

He will outline pathways available to aspiring players and coaches in a bid to increase diversity countywide.

He acknowledges the task will not be made easier by the kind of online racism experienced by Marcus Rashford, Tammy Abraham and Paul Pogba amongst others over the past couple of weeks, and the monkey noises directed at Romelu Lukaku when he scored for Inter Milan at Calgiari on Sunday.

“It is going to hurt – the way it is said and who says it, it can have an impact,” said Rehman.

“What I would say is that Lukaku and Rashford have handled their situations very well. They have said the right things. But it is bound to affect them.”

Rehman has vast experience in the game.

A former player at Brentford and a qualified coach, he works as an education advisor for the PFA and sits on the Premier League’s flagship ‘Elite Coach Apprenticeship Scheme’.

In addition, he is a trustee for the Zesh Rehman Foundation, which tries to drive sports participation, community cohesion and social development through football.

“Football reflects society,” he said. “Racism is in society.

“I am sure it has an impact.

“I have spoken to people from Bradford who have taken their teams to tournaments where they have been racially abused. They have stopped doing so because they say nothing happens. That could be the reason why more Asians in particular don’t move further into the game.

“But I don’t believe the whole of football is racist. If it was, there would not be any diversity whatsoever. There is a minority who need more education.”

Rehman, who was born in Birmingham, is concerned at the lack of British Asians in particular involved in football, both professionally and at grassroots level.

Now 35, Zesh Rehman is in his second stint in Hong Kong, having had spells at eight different English clubs, most notably QPR and Bradford City.

In Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury and Swansea’s England Under-17 international Yan Dhanda, there are British Asians at a high level of English football, although the numbers are small.

“At the moment, for Asians, it is about playing the game,” he said.

“They are probably 10 to 20 years away from where we would like it to be. As for post-playing, you don’t see many black coaches or managers on benches at first-team games, let alone British Asians.

“In fact, my brother is the only British Asian to have his Pro-Licence badge. If he wants to go down that route, he will probably be the first person to manage in the Premier League or Championship.

“That would be massive. If it happened, he would have a bigger impact as a coach or manager than he did as a player.”

A role model at 23

Raya Ahmed is breaking down football barriers in a very different way.

Born in Tooting, the 23-year-old started playing football when she was at school and was good enough to be spotted by a scout from Wimbledon.

By her own admission, she was intimidated by the lack of British Asian players and quit after a single day.

Undeterred, Ahmed gained a degree in sports science. At the same time she did some coaching for the Zesh Rehman Foundation.

She has just been appointed as a female engagement officer at Crystal Palace.

“When I got to Wimbledon, the thing that made me not want to continue was a lack of confidence. I was 16. You didn’t see many Asians playing football,” she said.

“Now I am working with females, engaging them. I want to inspire them and get as many females as I can into the game, no matter what their background is, what area they come from or how old they are.

“I say to them what I said to myself when I was 16. You have to fight your fears. No-one in my peer group, either at school or university, thought of football as a career.

“You need to push yourself. Get out there. If you don’t see any role models, you need to become one. If you get out there, someone will follow you.”