This column was first published on June 4, 2020.

I HAVE twice encountered racism directly in my time following football, once from a fellow fan and once from a supporter of another club.

And I’m ashamed to say that on both occasions, I was so taken aback that by the time I’d gathered my thoughts the perpetrators had fled.

As we watch on from cosy little Devon with horror at what is going on across the Atlantic right now, it’s easy to forget the problems we still have here.

Neither act I witnessed was necessarily dispatched with much venom or bile, but more in uneducated, ignorant attempts at some form of humour.

That’s exactly what’s needed to combat it – education. I strongly believe that nobody is born a racist, and that is is possible to say something racist without being a racist.

I’d also like to think that if I had my time again, I’d confront said perpetrators and explain to them the errors of their ways.

The fact that both fans had just watched BAME players represent their respective teams goes to show quite how ridiculous the predicaments were.

But somehow it is still seen as acceptable in some corners of sport. There were plenty of other people within earshot of each incident – were they shocked into initial silence like myself, or actually complicit with what was being said?

I’d like to think that it’s resolutely the former, but realistically there was probably a mix of both. There’s no smoke without fire.

I speak as someone who, as a 21-year-old white male, has never suffered any oppression of any kind.

For the most part, Devon is hardly the most diverse of places. But we must still confront such damaging, archaic ideologies and stamp them out as and when they rear their ugly heads.

We were all quick to point fingers when black England players were subjected to disgusting abuse against Bulgaria in Sofia last year, and rightly so.

Similar digits have now been aimed at America, as we gawp open-mouthed at the police brutality and burning cities across the pond.

Bearing all of that in mind, we’d also do well to remember that we’re by no means perfect ourselves.

‘In terms of anything that happens on the field, there are clear Fifa guidelines for how you have to report incidents,’ said England manager Gareth Southgate before the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

‘But I don’t think we should just talk about racism in Russia. There are still things going on in our own country that aren’t correct.

‘So we keep pointing the finger at Russia, where we’re going to be guests in the next few months. But we haven’t resolved the issue in our own country, and until we do we should stop firing off elsewhere.’

Two years on and his words still ring true.

I wonder whether the pair of offenders I encountered have since been pulled-up for their actions, or continue to spout ignorance.

We’ve come a long way, but there’s still more work to be done. Black lives matter, and the sooner we all understand that the better.