Harry Redknapp tells LBC that the football fan arrested over 'racist abuse' was "an isolated idiot"

8 December 2019, 17:59

Football legend Harry Redknapp told LBC that you've always got "one idiot, one lunatic" at football matches.

Harry Redknapp reflected on a 41-year-old man being arrested in connection with "racist abuse" at yesterday's Manchester Derby.

Redknapp said: "You've only got one idiot, one lunatic. One lunatic. You know, you can't judge 50,000 people on one lunatic."

He continued: "Some teams are made up more of black lads. They're fantastic players, great role models."

On whether the game abandoned, Redknapp said: "How can you suddenly keep abandoning games because one nutter has decided to go to football on Saturday, he might not even like football and he shouts out some kind of stupid racist remark or whatever?"

He called for the man to be educated.

Martin Stanford asked: "What's the sanction? What's the punishment?"

Redknapp said: "What can the club do?"

He suggested: "Get the police, take him out the ground, you know, educate him, lock him up, whatever but educate him at the same time. I mean it's wrong, we don't need this, we don't want it but, unfortunately, it can happen anywhere."

Martin Stanford asked if the language in football had got coarser.

Redknapp replied: "It's got better, for sure."

He compared it to his West Ham days.

He explained: "In them days it was horrific, it was it was scary but it's changed. Everybody now, I'm looking at pictures on here now of the Celtic players celebrating. There's five lads having a picture taken with the cup. They're all black boys every one of them. Fantastic lads, great players."

He then said, in the lower divisions, there are isolated cases of racism but most teams are racially diverse.

Redknapp later explained that there is "still lots of room for improvement" but it's an "isolated idiot" who has caused this problem.

He finally said: "He needs help, someone needs to help this idiot. Help him please."