"We have to change the perception of the average black man in the street - until we change that perception, nothing will change."
Monday 10 December 2018 17:15, UK
John Barnes wants Raheem Sterling to "expand" on his views of racism and says society must change to tackle racist abuse in football.
Manchester City and England winger Sterling was the subject of alleged racist abuse at Chelsea on Saturday, which is being investigated by Chelsea and the Metropolitan Police.
On Sunday, Sterling accused newspapers of "fuelling racism" and Barnes wants him to speak more about the issue, saying that perceptions of black people in society are the problem and that racism has never gone away in football.
"I'd like him to expand on it," Barnes told Sky Sports. "To talk about language we use when reporting on different groups.
"Until we start tackling the cause of racism, it will keep coming back. It's nothing to do with football.
"It's the misconception of the way we view other groups of people.
"Historically, we have been told there are certain groups of people who are more worthy, more intelligent, more morally correct then others, it has been going on for hundreds of years and it continues to be perpetuated, this is what Raheem is saying.
Historically, we have been told there are certain groups of people who are more worthy, more intelligent, more morally correct then others, it has been going on for hundreds of years and it continues to be perpetuated, this is what Raheem is saying.
"The way that the media has portrayed certain groups of people - he mentioned footballers - this is what we have to change.
"We have to change the perception of what it is to be black. We have to change the perception of the average black person.
"Not of Raheem Sterling. Not of the fact that Stormzy might not get a Grammy. Not the fact that Idris Elba may not get an Oscar. Not the fact that John Barnes may not get a job as a football manager.
We have to change the perception of what it is to be black. We have to change the perception of the average black person. Not of Raheem Sterling. Not of the fact that Stormzy might not get a Grammy. Not the fact that Idris Elba may not get an Oscar.
"We have to change the perception of the average black man in the street - until we change that perception, nothing will change."
Barnes, only the second black player to play for Liverpool and one of the first black players to play for England, has challenged other black celebrities to "use their voice" in highlighting the issue around racism.
"What we've seen in the last 30 years is we've kept it quiet," Barnes added. "Any chanting, any bananas coming on, you're going to get ejected out, you're going to get kicked out and you're going to get banned. So people kept their mouths shut.
"The ones who can't keep their mouths shut are the ones we saw the other day, but that doesn't mean it ever went away.
"Football can do nothing to get rid of racism. Society has to get rid of racism. All football can do is govern its own house.
"That means for 90 minutes, when there is a match, you keep your mouth shut, then we'll all convince ourselves that everything is okay in football. But it isn't.
"What we do as celebrities is complain when it affects us. We should use our voice as so-called black celebrities, because we have a voice, to talk about the lack of opportunities both educationally and socially.
"When we change that, the world will be better for everybody."
