Stuart Pearce racism row sparks media smear claims
Two of Britain’s largest papers, the Daily Mail and The Sun, have come under fire for dredging up racism allegations from nearly two decades ago for front page stories on Friday.
Both articles were branded as a deliberate attempt to smear the former under 21’s coach, who has been given the caretaker position at England following the resignation of Fabio Capello.
The alleged incident took place during a game 18 years ago between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest in which Pearce made an apparent racial remark to Paul Ince.
Paul Parker, who played for United at the time, rode to Pearces’ defence sayng: “I can honestly say I do not remember the incident in question. However, if something was said and Stuart apologised to Paul afterwards - as was reported at the time - and no one felt the need to take it any further then we should just leave it where it belongs, in the past.
“What is the use of bringing something like this up and claiming it is 'news' when there is nothing new about it? It just goes to show that certain members of the press will chase a shocking headline at any cost, even if there is no foundation for it.”