Alan Hansen Angers Match Of The Day Viewers With 'Coloured Footballers' Comments

Race Row Takes Another Twist

Former Liverpool footballer Alan Hansen has angered viewers of Match Of The Day after he twice referred to black players as "coloured" when discussing the race row threatening to engulf the sport.

Debating whether racism was an endemic problem in football, Hansen said:

"There's a lot of coloured players in all the major teams and there's a lot of coloured players that are probably the best in the Premier League."

As his co-host Lee Dixon winced in his chair, Hansen appeared to ramble before host Gary Lineker eventually brought the discussion to a close.

On Twitter some viewers said they were outraged by his comments.

But others said that while the language was outdated, the comments should be kept in perspective.

England Captain John Terry was told yesterday that he would be charged following allegations of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand.

On Tuesday Liverpool's Luiz Suarez was banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 for using a racist insult against Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

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