Gary Bennett has been awarded an MBE in the New Year's honours list for his work with Show Racism the Red Card…
RACISM AT NUFC
"I was surprised, overwhelmed really, because I wasn't expecting it. It's a fantastic honour and I'm delighted to receive it for my work with Show Racism the Red Card over a long period of time - I've been a patron for more than 25 years. Ged Grebby, who is now chief executive of Show Racism the Red Card, was there at Newcastle on New Year's Day 1985 and was appalled at the racist abuse that myself and Howard Gayle received as black players in that derby game. We were sent off in the derby and that only made the abuse worse - Howard had actually played for Newcastle on loan from Liverpool, but it didn't prevent him being targeted. Ged is a Newcastle fan and he said 'we need to do something about this', and that eventually led to the founding of the charity and my involvement with it.
UNDERSTANDING
"We've been able to make people more aware of racist attitudes and make people understand what racism is all about. It's not just about black players, it can be about race, religion, nationality, or even culture. It's a case of understanding and educating people about what racism is. We still have work to do, but we have seen a huge change on the terraces since the 1980s. Unfortunately, the new battleground is social media which wasn't around back when I was playing. That's a huge issue now.”
SOCIAL MEDIA
"Social media companies need to be accountable for some of the things that they allow to be put on their sites. It's good that high-profile players such as Raheem Sterling at Manchester City and Marcus Rashford at Manchester United are putting their names to this and supporting and backing the calls for change."
Benno spent 11 years at Sunderland making 443 appearances…
