PCA revamps anti-racism campaign after football lessons

The Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) has relaunched its anti-racism campaign in the wake of recent controversies that have affected English football. Although there have been no reported incidents comparable to those involving the Premier League footballers John Terry and Luis Suarez, the PCA's assistant chief executive Jason Ratcliffe said it was a good opportunity to remind those involved in the game of their responsibilities.

"There are no cases that we're aware of but in light of some of the other incidents that are high profile at the moment, we thought it was a good time to make sure it was on people's radars," Ratcliffe said. "Over the last few weeks it's come up in conversation. Thankfully we haven't got any incidents but there's nothing stopping us being proactive. We have had a campaign ourselves and we thought it would be timely just to remind everybody of those key messages."

The PCA's announcement comes a week before Chelsea and England footballer Terry is due to appear in court on charges, which the player denies, of racially abusing a fellow professional. Last month, the English Football Association banned Liverpool striker Suarez for eight matches after the Uruguayan was found to have used racially insulting language towards Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

The campaign, which is supported by former England internationals Mark Ramprakash and Vikram Solanki, the PCA's chairman, features an advert that will appear on posters in the dressing rooms at all county grounds. The text reads:

When the ball hits the deck at 85mph
It doesn't care what language you speak.
When it reverse swings into your leg stump
It doesn't care where you grew up.
When it rips back through your gate
It doesn't care what your religious beliefs are.
And when it traps you in front
It certainly doesn't care what colour you are.
Neither should you.

"With other sports having high-profile, recent cases of racism, the PCA message is timely and clear," Ramprakash said. "The game has a well-known reputation for strong on-field sportsmanship, but there are always lines that should not be crossed on or off the field. Racism is one of them, it's just not acceptable."

The players' association launched its anti-racism initiative in 2005, fronted by Gladstone Small, but decided the involvement of current players such as Solanki and Ramprakash would help to modernise the campaign. "We're just making sure we bring it up to date, we get it back on people's agenda and make sure we're all aware of our responsibilities," Ratcliffe said.

Solanki added: "Cricket has a global multi-cultural society reflecting the general population and an ability to bridge social divides and prejudices. This acts as a reminder to all within cricket and the wider society that racism of any kind is unacceptable."

The PCA will continue to work with the ECB and the counties to promote the message and encourages players, spectators and officials to report incidents of racism.