Nathan Austin insists it is vital that incidences of racist abuse continue to be highlighted in Scottish football.
However, the Kelty Hearts striker is adamant progress is being made in the fight against prejudice.
Austin, 27, was the subject of a discriminatory barb during a recent League Two fixture against Albion Rovers, during which he scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory.
A Perfect hat-trick tarnished by an Albion fan calling me a monkey 🤦🏾♂️ but I guess that’s the world we live in 🤷🏾♂️ enjoy your Saturday folks cos I will 😎🤫 pic.twitter.com/mR22xjQHRt
— Fash 🇧🇧 (@Fash_Austin94) September 18, 2021
And while Austin is no stranger to a back-and-forth with opposition fans — he relishes it, in fact — he has emphasised the importance of calling out perpetrators when it goes too far.
“People might say ‘oh, he scored a hat-trick, why’s he bothered about someone calling him a name’,” said Austin. “That’s not the point. It’s about highlighting the issues we do still have in this country.
“Footballers receive abuse all the time. How you deal with that is a part of the game.
“But there has to a be a line and, when it goes too far, it needs to be called out. And that was too far.
“No-one should go to their job and receive racist abuse, no matter the industry.
“It was something I had to speak out about.”
Education
In bringing the incident to the attention of social media and the wider press, Austin hopes prejudice in Scottish society continues to be a point of discourse — and education improves as a result.
“Hopefully people see the tweet or the reports in the newspaper and it helps with the education aspect of it — getting people talking about it,” continued Austin. “That’s so important.
“Without going into detail, the person who abused me was a fairly young boy.
“That doesn’t make it okay, but it underlines the importance of educating kids about respecting different races and cultures.
“There needs to be an emphasis on that from a young age or this will keep happening; we’ll go round in circles.”
Progress
In a disheartening week for Scottish football, the abuse of Austin followed a similar incident involving Airdrie defender Rico Quitongo.
— rico quitongo (@15ricoquitongo) September 14, 2021
But while he is realistic about the ongoing challenge of eradicating discrimination, Austin is far from fatalistic.
He has spoke openly in the past about the disgusting jibes that almost made him quit football at the age of 14 and is adamant progress has been made in subsequent years.
But the fight never stops.
“I do believe we have come a long way,” added Austin, who will lead the line against Annan Athletic on Saturday.
“You can take a million steps forward and all it takes is one step back — one person to shout something racist — and it feels like everything has collapsed.
“That’s not the case. We aren’t back at square one. But just because things have got better, doesn’t mean it’s perfect. It doesn’t mean we stop highlighting these incidents when they do happen.”
Covid battle
Austin, meanwhile, has revealed that he was still feeling the effects of contracting Covid during that match against Albion Rovers on September 18, despite notching a treble.
And even as a young, healthy footballer, he has painted a sobering picture of the toll the virus took on him.
“I don’t really get ill but that was one of the worst experiences I have had,” continued Austin, League Two player of the month for September.
“It was five days being properly bed-bound
“I had a sore head; heavy chest; the sweats; my whole body ached; I lost my smell and my taste.
“I like to class myself as fit and able. I managed to avoid Covid for so long and when I got it, I thought I’d be fine. But that wasn’t the case — it hit me really hard.”
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