Celtic (foto: Uradni Twitter profil kluba/zveze)
Paul Elliott has shared painful memories from Celtic and Chelsea while supporting Hand of Hope, an art campaign fighting racism and funding youth projects.
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Former Celtic and Chelsea defender Paul Elliott has described the racist abuse he suffered during his playing career as “horrific” while lending his support to a new campaign against discrimination in sport.
Elliott, who became the Premier League’s first black captain, experienced racism throughout his career in England, Italy and Scotland. On one occasion, a supporter threw a banana at him during a match in an attempt to destroy his concentration.
Elliott responded unforgettably.
“He thought it would destroy my game. I took a bite, threw it back, and then scored the winner against his team,” Elliott recalled.
“It caused a lot of laughter inside the stadium. Scoring the winner threw it back in that racist’s face. After the match, I told reporters that the extra potassium had made me play like a colossus.”
Behind the humour was an experience designed to humiliate and dehumanise him.
“The intention was to break me. I knew I could not show weakness,” he added.
The Hand of Hope campaign
Elliott shared his experiences while supporting Hand of Hope, a new anti-racism campaign inspired by the abuse suffered by Bukayo Saka following the Euro 2020 final.
Saka missed a penalty during England’s shootout defeat against Italy and was subjected to widespread racist abuse on social media. Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were also targeted after failing to convert their penalties.
A group of leading artists has now produced 39 original paintings honouring athletes who confronted racism and refused to allow hatred to define their careers.
The collection features Saka, Thierry Henry, Vinicius Junior, Lewis Hamilton, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Chris Gayle and Neymar.
The paintings are being sold through a charity auction to raise to £100,000 for anti-racism causes and projects encouraging young people around the world to become involved in art.
One of the artists is Hayden Bone, who has worked as Arsenal’s official club artist for the past five years.
“The World Cup showed that racism in football is an ever-present curse,” Bone said. “If art and football combine to beat the haters, we can turn the tide. What happened to Bukayo was evil, but he never allowed them to win.”
The campaign’s name comes from a moment of support offered to Saka after his missed penalty at Wembley.
England head performance chef Omar Meziane instinctively reached out and placed a comforting hand on the devastated Arsenal player.
“It was a shattering moment. I instinctively reached out to Bukayo. His eyes were empty, and I knew what was coming,” Meziane recalled.
“I am honoured that this simple act of kindness has started a campaign against hatred.”
Elliott praises ‘the Saka way’
Elliott, now vice-chairman of Charlton Athletic and an adviser on equality and inclusion within football, believes Saka has developed his own powerful method of confronting racism.
“Saka deals with it in what I call the ‘Saka way’. He is a racism assassin,” Elliott said.
“In my twenties, I reacted badly to racism. He responds through his performances and his character. That is what I love about him.”
Elliott described the Arsenal winger as an outstanding person and an ideal role model for young supporters.
“People like me speak and appear on platforms. I am an activist and a lobbyist, but there is another way to respond, and that is the Saka way,” he continued.
“What he does reflects his mindset, character and confidence. That sends an incredibly powerful message.”
Saka completed a remarkable personal journey during the 2026 World Cup. He scored a hat-trick against France in the third-place play-off, including a goal from the penalty spot, as England ended their campaign with victory.
“He is a central figure for the England team and a powerful symbol of our country’s continuing battle with extremism,” Elliott said.
“He has experienced extreme adversity and the joy of scoring a hat-trick for his country. The artwork is simple but innovative and sends a strong message.”
Support for Vinicius Junior
Elliott also expressed sympathy for Real Madrid and Brazil winger Vinicius Junior, who has repeatedly spoken about the racist abuse he has suffered in European football.
“I felt deeply for Vinicius Junior when he broke down during a press conference,” Elliott said. “He is a world-class player with exceptional individual talent.”
“Racism can break anyone. People do not understand the effect it has if you allow it to enter your mind. It dehumanises you.”
Elliott praised Vinicius for speaking publicly about his experiences with dignity.
“By speaking with elegance and clarity, he is saying that what is happening is unacceptable and that he should not have to tolerate it.”
Elliott believes the enormous global reach of football gives the sport a responsibility to lead social change.
“Around four billion people watch the Premier League every year. Its influence is colossal,” he said.
“I also see the positive side because football gives us role models such as Saka and Vinicius. Every generation produces people who educate, mobilise others and create social change.”
John Barnes turned an ugly incident into an iconic image
The Hand of Hope collection also includes the infamous moment when a banana was thrown towards John Barnes during a Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool.
Barnes calmly backheeled the banana away from the pitch, creating an image that became one of the most recognisable responses to racism in British football.
“I was disgusted but not surprised,” Elliott recalled. “You use it to inspire yourself. Only someone with John’s first touch could have anticipated what was happening.”
“He had the perfect personality and emotional intelligence to deal with it. The incident is remembered as notorious, but his reaction achieved the complete opposite of what the racist intended.”
Racism and sectarianism in Scotland
Elliott moved to Celtic after being signed by Lisbon Lion and club legend Billy McNeill. He became Celtic’s first black player of the modern era and the club’s first black Player of the Year.
His time in Glasgow exposed him to a combination of racism and the sectarian rivalry surrounding Celtic and Rangers.
“In Scotland, racism was combined with sectarianism,” Elliott explained. “That was already built into the environment. There was a dark side created by more than a century of history, and it also helped racism continue.”
His childhood friend Mark Walters was playing for Rangers at the same time. The two men became high-profile black pioneers on opposite sides of Glasgow’s football divide.
“Mark and I suffered the most horrific abuse. I even received abuse from a minority of Celtic supporters,” Elliott said.
“I remember some Celtic fans abusing Mark and Rangers fans doing the same to me. People even asked me socially why I was speaking to him.”
Elliott’s response was simple. Walters had been one of his closest football friends since they played together for England at the age of 15.
“We were the two pioneers, two prominent black players representing Scotland’s biggest clubs. Now those clubs regularly have seven or eight black players. It has become normal.”
Elliott decided that his performances offered the strongest immediate response to those judging him by the colour of his skin.
“I was 25 years old. The best way to bring people onto my side was through the quality of my football,” he said.
“The awards I won gave me a platform to tell people: ‘Do not judge me by the colour of my skin. Judge me by my ability on the pitch.’”
Despite the abuse, Elliott retains affection for Scotland and the majority of supporters he met there.
“Most of them were wonderful people, full of humour and fun. Scottish football has now embraced diversity,” he said.
“I am proud because the careers Mark and I had gave other clubs confidence to sign black players. The majority of people are decent. The problems always come from a minority.”
Changing Chelsea from within
Elliott later returned to England and joined Chelsea, a club whose fanbase had developed a damaging reputation because of racist behaviour from some supporters.
Chairman Ken Bates told Elliott that he wanted him to become a leader on and off the pitch and help drive change within the club.
“Chelsea and Millwall supporters had been at the front of the old National Front movement,” Elliott said.
“There was irony in the fact that Chelsea later signed me and I became their first black captain and the Premier League’s first black captain.”
Elliott believes racist abuse becomes more intense inside a stadium because thousands of voices join together.
“Racism is bad enough on the streets, where the law can respond. Inside football grounds, it becomes intensified when thousands of people use unacceptable language,” he said.
“It makes some people stronger, but it breaks others. In one sense, it made me.”
Strength inherited from the Windrush generation
Elliott credits his mother and grandmother, two strong Jamaican women from the Windrush generation, with giving him the resilience to survive the abuse.
“They understood struggle, abuse on the streets and exclusion from society,” he explained.
“They gave me the strength to understand that football was not the original problem. The problem existed in society, and it followed society into football.”
That strength became a source of motivation throughout his career.
“The racists broke other people, but they were not going to break me. That mindset became the catalyst for my successful career.”
Football has improved, but racism has changed shape
Elliott acknowledges that football grounds have become safer and more diverse since his playing days. Reporting systems have improved, while more women, children and disabled supporters now attend matches.
The form of racism has also changed.
“In my generation, racism was openly visible. Now it is more covert,” Elliott said. “It appears through subtle behaviour and through social media, where people try to exclude and marginalise others.”
“We no longer hear the same mass monkey chants, but racism has become more sophisticated.”
Elliott supports immediate punishment and a zero-tolerance approach, but he also believes offenders need a route towards education and rehabilitation.
“There must be sanctions for racist behaviour, but rehabilitation must also form part of the process,” he said.
“Football is the world’s most powerful medium for challenging behaviour, confronting stereotypes and bringing people together.”
His final message to those who minimise the effects of discrimination is direct.
“You have not walked in our shoes. You have not lived our experiences.”