PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor wants Parliament to address lack of diversity in football

Gordon Taylor has called on Parliament to address the issue of a lack of black and ethnic minority managers in football.

PFA chief executive Taylor believes the sport has the power to act as a force for change.

Taylor told Sky Sports News HQ: “Football is supposed to set an example to other professions, and try to set an example with equality and inclusion, and against discrimination.

“From that point of view I think it is a serious enough situation now. When you look at the start of this season there were no black managers whatever out of 92 (league clubs).

“We have got a Parliament, a House of Lords and House of Commons, and everybody knows that’s where laws are made.

“We are not even talking about quotas, albeit national institutions like parliaments have quotas with regards to women MPs, so why not?

“Again, it’s not just coaching and managing - there is the boardroom as well. But before we get there, certainly there is the coaching and management, and it is not just senior level. It is all the way through the academies.

“There is so many staff employed now – when you travel away with teams there is as much staff as there are players. From that point of view, you don’t see as much black faces as you should to reflect fairly.

“There used to be a case that if England played abroad, the cities where the games were played would be shut down as there would be terrible trouble. You had news reporters travelling just for the trouble.

“Now we almost set the lead in good behaviour. They said back then that we’d never change it, that racism, extremism, bad behaviour and football hooliganism was a society problem. But we did change it because we worked at it and got together, and that’s what football can do.

“When football is at its best it can set a great example for the rest of the world.”