Black man in jewellery purchase shock

I am often told that my love of football is one of the most incongruous things about me. I’m never sure why this is, maybe I’ll write a blog about it some time, but for now it allows me to spot ridiculous stories like this one.

Everton footballer Victor Anichebe was arrested in Knutsford in Cheshire whilst looking in a jewellery shop window. Some facts:

1. Anichebe is a Liverpool raised Nigerian 20 year old.
2. He is a mid-level premiership footballer, presumably with a five-figure-a-week income.
3. Knutsford is an affluent Cheshire town frequented by footballers and local celebrities.
4. Anichebe was on crutches at the time of the incident.
5. Cheshire Police initially justified the arrest because he was ‘acting suspiciously’.

Clearly, there are police officers in Cheshire Police Force who believe it is suspicious for a young black man to look in the window of an expensive jewellers, and that this is enough to arrest and detain them. I’d suggest this was institutional racism but, y’know, that’s so 1993…