Since its public knowledge that he could qualify to play for the Nigerian national team, his ancestry is almost definitely known to the sporting public at large. The way I, a casual sports fan, know that American player Christian Pulisic is able to play for Borussia Dortmund because he was able to get an EU passport…

I am, quite literally, one of the most massiverest Premier League fans in the US. And I had no idea. I don’t know anyone who had any idea. I know Everton fans - they had no idea. To call this comment racist is fucking stupid. I actually thought it was pretty funny, although I think Barkley is more specifically the…

I thought the same thing. I watch lots of EPL and never knew that; what’s more, I’ve definitely had the same impression of Ross Barkley. Seems dumb as a brick

Probably someone should have done their research BEFORE writing a possibly-racist column?

MacKenzie’s entire job is writing nasty things about liberals, the Irish, celebrities, foreigners, Liverpool, immigrants, Scotland, and footballers. And he’s a football fan. Meanwhile, Ross Barkley is a star player, a homegrown Evertonian, has been a highly-touted prospect his entire career, and has 22 caps for…

An English soccer writer and/or reader would absolutely, definitely be aware that Ross Barkley is mixed-race. Specifically Nigerian? Probably not.

Yeah, I think it’s fairly well-known amongst most people who follow football closely (if for no other reason than his eligibility for Nigeria), but I don’t think Kelvin MacKenzie would be one of those people.

Maybe it’s best to err on the side of caution and not compare human beings to apes!

As he is one of the most highly-rated talents of his age group, his eligibility for other nations and therefore his heritage would be known in football circles.

How about an uplifting story of a man’s love for his daughter, his wife and narrowly avoiding the sex offender registry? Okay, if you insist.