Andrew Watson: The 'most influential' black footballer for decades lost to history

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  By Andrew Aloia BBC Sport Last updated on 11 October 2021 11 October 2021 . From the section Football Watson was a trailblazer who helped transform how football was played There are two murals of black footballers facing one another across an alleyway in Glasgow. One helped shape football as we know it, the other is Pele. Andrew Watson captained Scotland to a 6-1 win over England on his debut in 1881. He was a pioneer, the world's first black international, but for more than a century the significance of his achievements went unrecognised. Research conducted over the past three decades has left us with some biographical details: a man descended of slaves and of those who enslaved them, born in Guyana, raised to become an English gentleman and famed as one of Scottish football's first icons. And yet today, 100 years on from his death aged 64, Watson remains something of an enigma, the picture built around him a fractured one. His grainy, faded, sepia image evokes many differen

Zungu 'has been a major disappointment’ – Rangers legend Boyd doubts South African will play for the club again

 Taiye Taiwo

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Bongani Zungu - Rangers
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The Bafana Bafana international was among the five players in Steven Gerrard's team who broke coronavirus lockdown rules

Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd said he does not expect Bongani Zungu to wear the club’s jersey again after he breached Scotland’s coronavirus lockdown protocols.

On Wednesday, Steven Gerrard disclosed that the Bafana Bafana midfielder alongside four other players, Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey, Dapo Mebude and academy goalkeeper Brian Kinnear attended a house party in Glasgow.

Gerrard, in his reaction, expressed his disappointment in the players who have now been dropped from the team and they are expected to face consequences which include paying fines.

The news also made Boyd – who scored over a century of goals for Rangers – furious and he stated that the identified players have not shown to be good examples to the younger ones.

He also added that the incident has capped Zungu’s unimpressive displays at the club after the Amiens loanee was handed his maiden Premiership start a fortnight ago.

"They've let themselves down, they've let their families down and they've let the club down,” Boyd told Sky Sports via Daily Record.

"Yes you can say that four of the five are young boys but it's no excuse, especially in this day and age. They are role models to the younger boys in the academy.

“The people in the academy will be saying to the youngsters: 'Look at what Nathan Patterson and look at what Dapo and Brian Kinnear have done to get to the level they've got to, in terms of being involved with the first team'. So they are role models to the younger ones in the academy and they've let themselves down.

"It was only a few months ago that it happened to a couple of their team-mates and they don't realise. I go back to the age thing. You can't use age as an excuse. Everybody knows what's going on in the world right now so they've made the mistake and they know that.

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"Steven Gerrard has come out and said that he feels totally let down by them, and rightly so. When you consider that Bassey and Patterson have been in and around the first team for a number of months now, were on the verge of potentially being part of a title party, they're four games away from winning the league - that's not going to happen.

"Whether that is Steven Gerrard or Rangers speaking to the clubs they go on loan to, to see if they have bucked up their ideas as such. Zungu - I'd be very surprised if you see him in a Rangers jersey again."

"He's been a major disappointment since he's come to the football club and this just tops it all off."

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