The racist chanting and gestures of several members of the crowd at a recent England international match in Bulgaria was a stark reminder that Racism in sports crowds is still an issue that hasn't been driven from stadiums around the world. There have also been recent episodes in British domestic football, particularly in the Manchester derby in which one man in the crowd was given a lifetime ban for what the club believes was clear racist gestures towards two Man Utd players. But there was an ugly situation back in 1810 during a Boxing bout between Tom Cribb, the champion of England, and his African American former slave rival Tom Molyneux. In fact a number of the crowd which numbered thousands turned to violence against Molyneux when he appeared to have gained the upper hand in what was the most important sporting event in the country at the time. An invasion of the ring resulted in an injury to Molyneux's hand which made victory all but impossible.

Producer: Tom Alban