John Barnes

You can't think too much.

You play these positions.

Now those myths have been dispelled.

You can play anywhere.

But you still have this perception as to can you lead, can you think.

And no matter how many black players now come to play, until we now change the perception of their worth when it comes to leadership or to managing, nothing will change.

Until society changes perception of their worth.

Very much like, is a female going to come and manage a football team?

until we change the perception of our ability.

Let's look at referees.

Look at a female ref.

If a female ref comes in and she doesn't make any mistakes, we all pat ourselves on the back and say, oh, we believe in her, we believe in her.

If she makes four or five mistakes, they're going to say it's because she's a woman.

If a man makes four or five mistakes, it's not because he's a man, it's because he's a bad referee.

But I can guarantee you, if a female referee makes a mistake, they won't say it's because she's a bad referee, they'll say it's because she's a woman.

We change that perception, so it's got nothing to do with being black,

being female, being gay, whatever.

It's the perception we have of people who we feel superior to.

And this is, in society, it's got nothing to do with football.

It's got to do with life.