Bartley: "I really was struggling. I see myself as Marvin Bartley, there are a lot of things about me that I can change. But the colour of the skin I was born with, for somebody to see that as a problem and say those things about you is really hard to deal with"
Saturday 13 June 2020 14:49, UK
Livingston midfielder Marvin Bartley has reflected on his own experiences of suffering racist abuse in Scottish football, and is calling for the introduction of strict liability to force clubs to take racism more seriously.
The measure would involve holding clubs liable for the actions of their supporters, which Bartley feels will focus the minds of supporters and will act as a better deterrent.
"I think in terms of football, the fines are embarrassing for racial incidents," he told Sky Sports News.
"When you look around the footballing world, you will probably get fined more for revealing a sponsor on a T-shirt than someone in the crowd shouting racial abuse.
"That is not us taking it seriously. The fines have to be a lot heavier. There has to be a lot more onus on the clubs to sort this out.
"If a club were to have a racial incident from their supporters [abusing] a player, there should be a warning and a fine that goes with it.
"If you have another one, there should be a points' deduction. That is the only way that it is going to stop this. It is the only way it will be self-policed.
"When fans in and around you know you are costing your side points or a place in the league, that's when people start to take it seriously because it is affecting the football club as a whole.
"I get it that some people are scared when they hear these things, they don't want to get involved in it, but let's make it concern everybody.
"The clubs will be a lot more serious about it because the fines will be heavy and they are losing points."
The last time Scottish clubs had a vote on changes to punishments for racist abuse was in 2013, when proposed alterations to the rules were overwhelmingly rejected at the Scottish FA AGM.
Last year, the Scottish Government said they would be willing to act if football did not take meaningful action to improve fan behaviour after a series of issues including pitch incursions and bottles being thrown.
Former Kilmarnock striker Kris Boyd was also hit with a coin during a 1-0 defeat to Celtic in 2019, and Neil Lennon suffered the same fate in the same season while manager of Hibernian.
Bartley added: "Let's have a vote about it and the clubs that say no to it, tell us why.
"I am more than happy to listen to clubs who would vote no to find out their reasons why. Let's have a debate about it.
"I can't think of a Scottish Premiership side that doesn't have a black player in their squad. If they don't want to take liability for [racist abuse] then they should come out and explain their reasons."
The 33-year old made the move north five years ago, signing for Hibernian in 2015 and winning the Scottish Cup in his first season with the club before joining Livingston in 2019.
Bartley has encountered racist abuse during his time in Scotland.
He said: "I have had a couple of incidents myself when playing since I have been here. The first one was when I was playing in an Edinburgh derby, someone had tweeted me some stuff which I saw when I came off the pitch.
"It was harsh and it hurt but the second incident was a lot worse because I heard someone saying it.
"Warming up, someone zoomed in on me in a video and it is probably the worst racial abuse I have heard in a video.
"I got the footage sent to me too, it was awful, it cut me deep to hear those words, not only said, but said about you.
"It is mentally tough, especially when you feel settled somewhere and you hear that. Not only do you hear it but it goes out on social media, so your mum and family hear it. It was a torrid time.
"I can't describe how I felt after I received it, I really was struggling. I see myself as Marvin Bartley, there are a lot of things about me that I can change.
"But the colour of the skin I was born with, for somebody to see that as a problem and say those things about you is really hard to deal with."
Bartley wants victims of racist abuse to speak up and take matters to the police despite his alleged abuser walking free from court after the case was found 'not proven'.
He said: "When I dealt with my incidents, I don't have a bad word to say about Police Scotland, they were truly fantastic.
"In terms of when it went one step further when someone is up in court and they walk free, you start to question how serious we are as a country in dealing with it.
"I take the positives out of it, the police were magnificent. I sent them a tweet and an e-mail to thank them as they dealt with it first class all the way through."
The midfielder is in no doubt about what needs to happen in society, at football matches and on social media.
He added: "Two things will help, firstly, self-policing. We need to pull people up and say that is not acceptable or to alert a steward and say I have just heard racist abuse.
"The second thing is educating yourself. I can be called many different things but to bring my skin colour into it is below the belt. I think too many people feel it is acceptable. People need to educate themselves on how it makes others feel.
"I am a professional footballer, on the pitch my style is physical but I am still a human being. This is what I am trying to get across, it hurts me like anybody else.
"I think racism is getting worse in terms of social media. 20 years ago, if you wanted to offend a person of colour, you would have to go to their face and say it but now footballers are so accessible over social media, you could just send a message to them.
"You can do it via a fake account and then delete the account. I will never meet them but they've still sent that message and that hurts just as much reading it."
Bartley is currently taking his coaching badges with the Scottish FA and is clear about his career path once his playing career is over.
Currently, in Scotland, there is only one BAME manager - Alex Dyer who manages Kilmarnock and is also the Scotland assistant manager.
"I know a lot of people who have applied for jobs may have a different story to me but if there is one BAME manager in Scotland, my idea is I want to make it two.
"That is my mindset, rather than there is only one and it is a serious problem. That has to be the mindset of people of colour and ethnic minorities.
"If you want to get into something then go down the correct routes. I am doing my coaching badges.
"I am not going to sit there and say I am a professional footballer so I deserve a job, no, I will go down the correct routes and prepare as best as I possibly can, I will do all my qualifications and if in five to 10 years' time I am speaking to you again and I have not managed to get a job, then I might look at it differently.
"But at this moment in time, that is not my mindset. Some people will say I am naive."
Other sports have looked at following the NFL by introducing the 'Rooney Rule' to improve diversity in the recruitment process of coaches.
Bartley believes this can benefit aspiring BAME coaches and managers in football, but says jobs must be given to the best candidates.
"I think a 'Rooney Rule' would be good. If you do have the right qualifications then you do get to have that experience of doing an interview and presenting yourself and your philosophy to a football club.
"That could encourage more BAME candidates to get involved. For me, I still want to knock on the door and still want to do my qualifications and work hard. I want to be as best prepared as I possibly can be for when that opportunity does come because I do believe it will come.
"I am not thinking that I am doing all the badges and qualifications and it won't happen, my mindset is that it is going to come and when it does, I will be successful."
