Reading striker Jason Roberts has called for improved funding for Kick It Out and stronger leadership in the equality department at the Professional Footballers' Association in a bid to win the fight against racism.
The 34-year-old - one of several leading players, including Anton and Rio Ferdinand, who refused to wear Kick It Out T-shirts at the weekend - says he and a group of players have been in talks with the PFA over the past year, since high-profile racism incidents involving Luis Suarez and John Terry, and have submitted recommendations which have not yet been acted upon.
Quoted in the Daily Mail, he said: "Myself and a group of other players have been in detailed discussions with the PFA for some time. We suggested to them all along that this week could be an issue, because people didn't want to wear the T-shirt."
He continued: "People ask me what I'm looking for, and the answer is pretty simple.
"It needs a serious approach to representation with proper resources to do the job that is needed to take things forward.
"Kick It Out has done some substantial things, but as an organisation it is not seriously funded, and it should be.
"The equality department in the PFA needs to change and should have stronger leadership and more than just one or two staff. It doesn't have the resources or the manpower to tackle the job.
"These are the issues that I felt needed to be raised. Detailed discussions and recommendations have been tabled for a year now, across several meetings, without any progress being made."
Source: PA
