Stuart Pearce racism storm

The issue of racism continues to linger in the air where football is concerned.

No sooner had Fabio Capello resigned from his post as England coach that the Football Association had announced that Stuart Pearce would be taking the reins on an interim basis for the friendly against Holland on February 29.

Capello felt his position was untenable after he disagreed with the FA's decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy after his trial for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand was scheduled to take place in July, after the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

At a press conference at Wembley Stadium yesterday, Pearce was named as coach for the national team for the game against Holland.

But he does not come without controversy, not least because his older brother is Dennis Pearce, a member of the British National Party who stood as a candidate at the 2009 European elections.

Stuart though has come out before to distance himself from his brother's political beliefs and should not be judged on this basis.

But there have also been reports that Pearce had to issue an apology to Paul Ince back in 1994 after a heated exchange on the pitch resulted in Pearce racially abusing him.

The incident is alleged to have taken place while Pearce was playing for Nottingham Forest against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 1994.

It prompted the Professional Footballers' Association - running an anti-racism campaign at the time - to intervene.

PFA chief Gordon Taylor said then

"Stuart will be ringing Paul to apologise. Stuart regrets what he said. It was in the heat of the moment. He wants to make sure everybody knows he is sorry."

The fact the issue has resurfaced nearly two decades after it happened is cause for concern for the FA and for football, especially with a number of high profile incidents taking place in recent months which suggest football's racism problem is far from over.

Pearce has been described as a first-class caretaker who could be in line to take the job of England coach on a permanent basis. But the question is, what do the FA make of the allegation involving Ince, especially in the climate football finds itself in at the moment.