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A message for No 10 and us all
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As even those with little interest in sport are likely to know, Mr Le Saux went to Number 10 to attend a summit called by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to consider the problems of discrimination and prejudice on the football field. He joined other big names from the game, including England star John Barnes and Reading striker Jason Roberts.
It goes without saying that those at the summit examined the pernicious issue of racial abuse on the pitch and in the stands. It is, alas, one of the hot topics of the moment. However, Mr Le Saux was able to speak with special insight into a parallel and equally pernicious matter, homophobic abuse – even though he is a married heterosexual with two children.
As many Islanders will be aware, our footballing hero was the object of unwarranted homophobic slurs during the height of his career. It seems that some players and so-called fans were so dim-witted that they were unable to accommodate the idea that a man who could string more than two words together and enjoyed visiting antique shops rather than lap-dancing clubs could be anything other than effete.
Mr Le Saux clearly had a significant role to play at the Downing Street meeting, but the occasion was guaranteed to bring back uncomfortable memories. It therefore took courage to take part in an exercise which, it is very much to be hoped, will pay dividends.
It is fair to say that here in Jersey the problems of racist or homophobic abuse in sport are less acute than on the national or international scene. But that does not mean that the issues can be safely ignored or that all Islanders participating in sport are paragons of virtue.
To identify examples of bad behaviour it is unnecessary to look further than the Muratti, at which inter-island rivalry among supporters has been known to explode into something uncomfortably close to violent racism. Equally objectionable is prejudice based on players’ ethnic identities.
We might tend to assume that Mr Le Saux offered the benefit of his experiences only to the Downing Street delegates, but we must also take heed of what he had to say about tolerance and understanding.
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