Football / Soccer / Calcio / Futebol / Fußball

'I have 40 years of experience in football to understand the finer nuances especially when people of colour are spoken about.

'The focus tends to be on black men and when women are talked about the focus needs to capture gender diversity.

'We have to be mindful and cognisant of the 21st century challenges in the game to get greater diversity across the women's game at all levels to ensure their is a pathway for young women of colour particularly those from low socio-economic and disadvantaged backgrounds.

'We have lost two generations of male black players who never had the equal opportunity to transition into coaches, managers and administrators so it would be a huge dereliction of football's duty if they allowed the women's game to emerge the same way.

'The social, human and economic imperative of diversity is beyond reasonable doubt to all football clubs. The data is clear. I just want football to consistently do the right thing and be proactive not reactive.'

The core concept of the play focuses on three black women who have been role models of the highest order and have made a positive contribution to English football at the highest level.

'Many will remember the Three Degrees Cyrille Regis, Lawrie Cunningham and Brendon Batson and the generations of male black players that emerged on the shoulders of these great players like myself and many others that experienced the most horrific, unacceptable level of abuse.

'But the story of the courage and bravery of these three strong black women must be remembered and amplified too. Their resilience has undoubtedly been their brilliance.'

His actual quotes. No criticism of Arsenal. No mention of "shocking" or "concerning" all-white photos. Don't buy in to the Daily Mail's hate chaps.