Early last Saturday morning, I made my way down to Piper’s Pub on the Southside to watch Liverpool vs Everton, the famed Merseyside Derby.
Out of the 13 players who played for Liverpool (11 + 2 substitutes), 3 were black – Glen Johnson, Daniel Sturridge and Victor Moses. That’s 23%.
Glen Johnson, LFC Defender
All told, Liverpool’s matchday lineup included 18 players, 6 of whom are black. That’s 33%.
Breaking it down even further, 6 of Liverpool’s full matchday lineup are British including the Welshman Joe Allen. 3 of those 6 are British black players. That’s 50%.
Going to the full squad, Liverpool carry 25 players. 8 are black. That’s 32%. There are 9 British players. 4 are black. That’s 44%. Here are the full squad breakdowns:
| Race | Count | Percentage |
| White | 9 | 36% |
| Black | 8 | 32% |
| Latin | 8 | 32% |
| British | 9 | 36% |
| British White | 5 | 56% |
| British Black | 4 | 44% |
I’ve read that roughly 25% of the players in the British Premier League are black. Certainly not all of them, nor probably even a majority, are British blacks.
Blacks make up about 3% of the UK’s 55 million residents. If you factor in people of mixed race, that number goes up to 5%.
Make of these percentages what you will. I leave them to stand on their own.