18 Riaz Khan - Assimilation Not Integration - a podcast by Apu Vyas

OGT speaks to Riaz Khan, author of Khan, Memoirs of an Asian Casual.

Now a university lecturer and activist, Riaz had a more colourful past.

The 70's and 80's were a dark time for football in many respects. Hooliganism has since been glamorised by the cinema but there are many books that can give you a real insight into the times.

Cass Penant and Barrington Patterson are now well known outside of their 'firms'.

In and amongst all of this, Asians were there. On one side you had the communities and shops, often found in and around football clubs and they had an uneasy relationship with football fans which has led to many of that generation shying away from supporting their local team, either in person or at all.

Less well known is the story of Asians who joined in and participated in this 'culture'.

Riaz's book gives a voice to many of those. He tells his story and it is interspersed with reminisces and anecdotes of many other 'hooligans' and 'casuals', many of them black and surprisingly, Asian too.

Follow Riaz on Twitter @riazkhanlc and on Facebook

'Memoirs' has been turned into an award winning play and look out, there are some more exciting projects to come from Riaz.

Asians in football... we're getting there... or perhaps we've always been here...

Music:

Naraina by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4112-naraina

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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