Frankly any suggestion that the racism in football today compares with that in the 1970s is rubbish. It was absolutely endemic in the 1970s. Fans from ethnic minorities are made welcome today; they would have been in real danger in the 1970s.
These days the majority of fans disapprove of homophobia. In the 1970s the vast majority of fans were homophobic While I was never racist or sexist I am ashamed to say I was quite ready to complain that a player tackled like a poof as were my non-racist non-sexist friends.
As a boy watching Wolves in the 1950s with my father I remember asking why every match Wolves fans chanted at opponents goal kicks - "The goalie is a fairy ee ay addio the goalie is a fairy" . This was every match and nobody questioned it.
In the lower leagues it was worse. Worcester City signed a midfielder who was a skilled ballplayer by their standards but rather shy in the tackle. He was soon known as "Fairy" even when playing well - "Fairy scored a good goal."
In the Micky Adams promotion season there was a match in which the referee was black and a girls football team paraded round at half time. I did not hear a single racist or sexist remark. I thought then that we have come a long way and in the right direction.
