Sheffield Wednesday's Danny Rohl and Barry Bannan call for team effort in football's fight against racism

The Owls were embarrassed by an idiot racially abusing Coventry City's former Huddersfield Town loanee Kasey Palmer in last week's Championship encounter, and have been doing all they can ahead of Friday’s FA Cup tie between the sides to make clear they will not tolerate a repeat.

Rohl says it is important the whole club stands up for its values, and Bannan argued football must go further, calling for more guidance from its authorities.

"There's no space in our world for this," said Wednesday's German manager.

"We have values for our club. We are a great club with great supporters and it's important everyone is looking for each other. If there's something in the stands we have to handle it as a group on and off the pitch.

"Everybody has to take responsibility – the people around this guy to stop him and us on the pitch. We have to do everything to stop such a situation and if we have guidelines, that's helpful."

How to deal with a societal problem without punishing the right-thinking majority of supporters or ignoring it has long been a problem. Football has been very supportive of anti-racism organisations and since the Covid-19 lockdown players have "taken the knee" to protest against racism.

This week FIFA president Gianni Infantino was one of those to call for matches to be forfeited when fans commit racist offences.

"What we've done up to this point is good but it's not working so we need to do a bit more as a community, as a country, as a world really because it needs to be stopped," argued Bannan

"Football's for everyone so when these things happen it's disgusting, really.

"We've done the knee, we've done the (Kick It Out) strips before games and it's still happening so whatever they come up with, we'll fully back.

"If a player who's received the racist abuse like at the weekend at Hillsborough decides to walk off, it's a team game and no doubt we would all walk off together."

Rohl said of Infantino's suggestion: "If it's helpful to stop such a situation, we should do it. If something happens and we cannot accept this, we will make a (stand).

"If something happens again there will be a big consequence."