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Lord Herman Ouseley today said he had no recollection of Graham Taylor apparently revealing he had been told to limit the number of black players he selected for England - but 'believes that those attitudes existed at the time'.
Taylor has denied the suggestion made in a book written by Emy Onuora, the brother of former professional footballer Iffy Onuora, that he privately admitted two members of the FA had told not him “in no uncertain terms” not to go beyond a certain limit.
Although it is alleged Taylor made the initial claim during the 1999-2000 season at a function at Watford’s ground, it was supposedly repeated at an event to mark Kick It Out’s 10th anniversary in 2004. But Ouseley, Kick It Out’s chairman, told Standard Sport: “I have no recollection of Graham Taylor making the comments which are being reported in the media from the anniversary lunch.
“I am of the view that those sorts of attitudes would have existed. Racial prejudice, discriminatory practices and institutional exclusion were much more prominent during the 90s than now but not yet extinct, in spite of positive efforts on several fronts.”
