A freelance sport producer from East Lothian says he was racially abused on two occasions over the space of a few hours after attending a Rangers football game.
Bobby Nwanze, 32, said that he was forced to leave a Rangers Scottish Cup match vs Stirling Albion at half time on Friday January 21, after he faced abuse from a fellow supporter in the stands.
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To make matters worse, Bobby was subjected to a further bout of abuse when visiting a Rangers themed bar close to the stadium.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Bobby said that he was left in tears in the car when returning from Glasgow, and that the incident had put him off from returning to Ibrox but that he would do so, as he did not want to empower racists.
On the abuse he received, he said: “Why I like Rangers is that the team is relatable to me. In the past the squad was not overly diverse but when you look at the team now that has completely changed. The captain Tavernier is black as is Bassey, Balogun, Aribo, Morelos, Sakala, Bacuna and Kamara. So for me I identify with them.
“To be honest, I am often apprehensive about going to live games due to the elements of racism that can occur there. But my friend Abie, John and I decided to go through for the Scottish Cup tie as we thought it would be a nice family friendly atmosphere with it being the fourth round of the cup.
“Around 25 minutes into the game, I’m doing my usual and talking football with fans around me, having a good time. But then I see an older man waving his arms at me, he looks at me and says ‘I can’t understand a word you are saying, are you even speaking English?’
“I turned to my friends and asked if he had just said what I thought he had. After that I just felt sick and my mood completely dropped. My friends said to try to ignore him but I could not.
“So we left to go to a Rangers bar, I think it was called the Wee Rangers, and when we walked in it was as if everyone had stopped to stare at me walking to the bar - it was weird. We ordered some drinks and just took ourselves to a quiet corner to watch the rest of the game. That is when a middle aged man approached me.
“This gentleman would not leave me alone. He said ‘You are black, what does Fashion Sakala mean?’ My friend asked what he said and when I repeated it they were absolutely astounded. The man proceeded to keep calling me Fashion Sakala even though I asked him to leave me alone to watch the game.
“My friends then tried their best to get them to leave me alone but then the man turned with their group of 20-30 mates and started singing the Fashion Sakala song at me. Now I do not mind banter but my race is not a joke for other people’s amusement. This was being derogative.
“The guy then sat next to me again and started to touch my arms whilst saying, ‘You’re a big boy eh, you're always big.’ He continued to bother me before I was stern and said to leave me alone. It was then that the man said I shouldn’t be there.
“Before we finished our drinks and left, the guy went over to his friends and started acting aggressive. The worst part about it was that for the ten minutes this went on, everyone in the bar was watching me and not the game. I honestly burst into tears when we got back to the car.”
Bobby noted that he “wanted to stay and watch the rest of the game” but said that is not as simple as that.
He noted that BAME individuals are often asked to be the bigger person but this is not often the case. It is about being smart.
He added: “What white people don't understand is how difficult it can be. My friends say this shouldn't happen but hopefully they see why I don't go to football games and why I prefer to watch games on TV or why I am so selective about the games I go to.
“Everywhere I go, and every time I go to a football game I expect it. My wife, who is also mixed race as is our son, said I hope nothing happens when I told her I was going to Ibrox. In the first half it occurs!
“Imagine I went with my son? People took their kids, it was an affordable match. Imagine explaining to my son why we are leaving the ground. That is what makes me sad.
“What I don't understand is that the man was not speaking to me. He can have his racist thoughts and feelings but to have the confidence to be racist openly? That literally means they have no care. They saw me as a piece of chewing gum on their foot. What gives him the right to feel he can say anything he wants to me?
“I’ve had people tell me that it was good I was the bigger person in the bar but the truth is I have to be smart. I don’t know about that pub. I don’t know the people and there is a group of thirty of them. I’m a young aspiring journalist, say I punched the man and a video goes viral it is me that gets hurt. Not to mention there was a large group of them and they were already looking for me to act - what happens if someone sticks something in me and I do not return to my wife and son? That is the reality that I was facing.
“There will be those who say it is the older generation and that it will die out but looking around Scottish football and even the media that covers it, there are not a lot of Black or Asian faces.
“If you were to get pictures of crowds in Scotland you'd struggle to count ten Black or Asian people. We hear football is a place for people to release their anger but does that mean that it is ok to be racist?
“The issue is the new generation are learning from the old. My kid goes to nursery and mixes with all demographics with no problem but by the time he arrives at primary and secondary school it could be different. And where do the kids learn that sort of behaviour from? The older generation.
“We need to get serious about punishing racial abuse. The ignorance is unbelievable at the moment and the fact that it took until last year to see the first jail sentence for racial abuse at a football match handed out says it all.
“I hope to be able to break the mould with becoming a full time sport producer, so that other people can see me succeeding and it is not seen as just a box ticking exercise.
“The incident put me off going back to Ibrox but that does not mean that I will not. I do not want to empower racists.”
Bobby currently works as a property assistant at Edinburgh City Council but hopes to secure a full-time career in sport producing in the near future.
He is also a chair for the BAME network for Edinburgh City Council as well as being a diversity ambassador for Edinburgh South in the capital.
He has produced a host of content for BBC Sport Scotland as well as clubs across Edinburgh and the Lothians.
And as if that was not enough, he is also a student of ‘Construction Built Environment’ at Heriot Watt University where his uncle Sir Geoff Palmer became the first black professor in Scotland.
If you have been impacted by a similar incident and you would like to share your story, please contact: Jacob.Farr@reachplc.com
