EPL clubs "have promised to work closely with specialist e-crime police officers to clamp down on racist abuse on internet message boards and Twitter aimed at footballers, pundits and fans," according to Owen Gibson of the GUARDIAN. The EPL said that it will "prosecute offenders where possible." The government also "called on football authorities to take more proactive action to combat homophobia in its response to a recent select committee report." Those initiatives emerged from a summit "convened to discuss racism and homophobia within the game that also included a new scheme to encourage more coaches and managers from black and minority ethnic backgrounds." U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron after the meeting "paid tribute to the progress that had been made since the 1980s to eradicate racism on the pitch and in the stands." But he added that there "should be no complacency" (GUARDIAN, 2/23).
LOOKING FOR AN APOLOGY: In London, Ian Herbert reported EPL club Liverpool has been told by a group of local and national black leaders that the club "should issue an unreserved apology" to Manchester United D Patrice Evra. The group claims Liverpool has "contributed to the 'incitement of racism in football and the wider society' with their reluctant acceptance" of F Luis Suarez's punishment for directing a racially derogatory term toward Evra. The group in an open letter to Liverpool asked that the club "accept publicly the findings of the FA-appointed independent regulatory commission once and for all" (London INDEPENDENT, 2/22).
