As England prepare for the summer's European Championships, there's hope from within the game that the racist abuse of players after the Euro 2020 final won't be repeated, but Wes Morgan recognises there's always going to be work to do.
The summer of 2021 saw Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka all receive abusive messages after the trio failed from the spot in England's penalty shoot-out defeat by Italy. Arsenal and Manchester United quickly moved to condemn the behaviour, but more flashpoints have followed.
An Aston Villa fan was handed a football ban in 2023 after racially abusing Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling, and anti-discrimination charity Kick it Out reported a 65 per cent increase in reported incidents of discriminatory behaviour during the 2022-23 season. There have also been high-profile incidents outside the UK, with Belgium star Romelu Lukaku suggesting more diversity in positions of power can help tackle the issue.
Morgan, who won the Premier League at Leicester City captain in 2016, is one such individual in a position of power. The Jamaica international joined Kick It Out's board of trustees in late 2023, and has found himself learning quickly on the job.
"I think it's [abuse] always going to be there in a sense, with social media and how easy it is to voice your opinions," Morgan told Mirror Football at the Football Black List celebration. "I think the important part is the consequences of people's actions and how it's dealt with.
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"I think that wasn't there before and now there's processes in place to combat that and try to stop those situations from happening. We're seeing fans getting banned, that's big consequences, so hopefully that will deter individuals from doing anything they shouldn't be doing, and hopefully, we won't see a repeat of the scenes we've seen before.
"I've seen some bans. There definitely needs to be more done, but I think as soon as something severe has happened to an individual it hopefully sends a message to people that if you've got opinions, keep them to yourself."
Has football done enough to deal with racist abuse? Have your say in the comments section
England star Bukayo Saka suffered racial abuse after the Euro 2020 final (Getty Images)Morgan, 40, racked up more than 700 senior appearances in a playing career spanning the best part of two decades. He says he's always had an interest in the executive side of things, though, and this has allowed him to make progress from the get-go.
"From my point of view, the football side and my experience and my knowledge is what I rely on," he says. "So it's still early but it's work I'm enjoying. A great setup, a great organisation and I'm learning a lot at the same time.
When appointed to the role, he spoke of a desire to help improve representation across the women's game. He says he has already seen "vast improvements over the past 12 months," but he's under no illusions about a quick fix.
"I work on things with a lot of female footballers, so it's good to see how things have improved, and that's what it's all about," he says. "The areas I work in always focus on what needs to be done and how can we improve and make things better, and that [women's football] is one of the areas.
Morgan was a Premier League champion with Leicester City in 2016 (AFP/Getty Images)Tony Burnett, Kick it Out's chief executive, was among those honoured at the Football Black List celebration in London. Burnett was honoured in the 'administration' category, while several players and managers - including Liverpool and England star Trent Alexander-Arnold and Burnley boss Vincent Kompany - earned recognition of their own.
"It's great to see the work that's been done, and the progress as well," Kompany said in a video message. "There's still a long way to go, but hopefully events like today help us on that journey."
Morgan knows as well as anyone else that change isn't an overnight thing. However, in just a few short months in his new role, he has already seen some welcome progress.
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