Men of Influence magazine


Southgate’s tenure as England manager has seen challenges to the harmony he has fostered, both from external and internal forces.

In March 2019, Danny Rose was the target of racist abuse from the stands as England played Montenegro in a Euro 2020 qualifier in Podgorica. From their position in the stadium, though, Southgate, his coaches and the FA staff present were unable to hear the torrent aimed at the Tottenham player.

It was only when Raheem Sterling scored and celebrated by cupping his ear to the crowd that they suspected something was not right, and Southgate was not made aware of the racist abuse until after the game.

In the final minutes of the match, Rose picked up a yellow card. Southgate admonished the defender for what he felt was a rash and unnecessary booking.

The manager is described as having been “mortified” when, soon after, he learned of the abuse Rose had suffered. He understood the frustration and anger that must have been building in the full-back at the time of his booking. Southgate immediately sought out Rose and apologised.

After the game, Southgate was disappointed with himself for having been unaware of the abuse to which his players had been subjected and with the fact more robust protocols were not in place to bring it to his attention sooner.

He led the implementation of a new process, ensuring any reports of abuse were fed into him more quickly, and that players were emboldened to speak up right away if a similar incident were to occur again.

In consultation with the FA’s sports psychology team, new protocols were drawn up and a support network put in place for tackling such abuse, and everyone was better prepared when, sadly, it happened again against Bulgaria seven months later.

Because Southgate spoke so well on the issue afterwards, calmly and articulately condemning the fans’ behaviour and supporting his players to the fullest, he now often receives requests for interviews or to take part in documentaries around the subject of racism in sport.

But he always politely declines, feeling that, as a white man in his 50s, there are many people in the game better placed to speak on the matter with the authority of first-hand experience.

Before a Nations League game against Iceland in Reykjavik in September last year, Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood were found to have breached Covid restrictions by inviting women to their hotel room.

The young duo’s indiscretion represented the most challenging disciplinary issue Southgate had faced as England manager, and some reports shortly after the event claimed he stormed up to the pair’s room and issued an angry dressing-down.

But, in reality, Southgate dealt with the situation in typically measured fashion. When a disciplinary matter arises, he seeks the counsel of his colleagues, gathering information about what has transpired before selecting an appropriate response. In this instance, a contravention of Covid protocols dictated that the players had to be removed from the squad.

Southgate was unequivocal and stern in reprimanding them, but he is empathetic and clear-sighted enough to realise that young people make mistakes. Once the incident was dealt with, a line was drawn under it and no lingering resentment was harboured.

“I don’t really understand how players could have felt that was acceptable,” Southgate said at the time. “That is a puzzle to me at the moment. We talked about a Covid breach. Initially that was what we needed to take control of. We had to act quickly.

“Trust needs to be rebuilt and that takes time. There has to be a consequence to what happened and then we’ve got to try to help them rebuild. Young people err more often than older people do. But that doesn’t mean you can hold that against them forever. With the spotlight on them and what their families will be having to deal with, that’s an incredible ordeal for young people.”

Just as he has exuded an air of calm decisiveness in moments of strife off the pitch, so too has Southgate met moments of tension and high pressure on the pitch with tranquil competence. None more so than in the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup, when England’s showdown with Colombia went to penalties.



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