In the 1980's, on a train in Sussex, my wife was subjected to sickening racial abuse by a group of skinhead Chelsea supporters.

Black and white relationships were nowhere near as prevalent then as they are now, but have we really moved on that much?

Or are we heading back towards an era where it was deemed acceptable for bananas to be thrown onto a football pitch?

The narrative is deeply disturbing. Evidence is mounting all too frequently that we are engaging reverse gear.

The Brexit vote, the election of Donald Trump as US president and the internet age have empowered racists and the ignorant with a confidence to openly have their bigoted say.

Like Jo Marney, the repugnant model and now ex-girlfriend of Ukip leader Henry Bolton, In texts to a friend she said she would not have sex with a "negro" because they are "ugly" and warned the "seed" of Prince Harry's future wife, Meghan Markle, would "taint our royal family".

A few days earlier, the Swedish clothing chain H&M thought it was okay to have a young black child on their website modelling a hoodie with the inscription "coolest monkey in the jungle".

Replies on message boards and comments sections to stories such as this and Albion defender Gaetan Bong's "racist" row with Jay Rodriguez reveal the extent to which this type of behaviour is treated as nothing out of the ordinary. Many of the reactions are as alarming as the stories themselves.

The Argus: Despite the admirable efforts of organisations like Kick It Out and Show Racism The Red Card, the game in this country as well as abroad still has a major problem.

Good on Gaetan for having the courage to instantly speak out. It is an issue which has been buried for far too long.

Emile Heskey, the ex-England striker, made some telling remarks in an interview with the BBC website.

He said "racism was considered the norm" when he came through the ranks.

Heskey added: "If you got sour or upset about any of these things you generally wouldn't go anywhere in football. No black person controls anything within football so we had to fit in.

"It has to come out to let people understand what we had to go through and how tough we had to be to make it within football."

Other examples of appalling behaviour have come to light.

A few weeks ago, 17-year-old Liverpool prospect Rhian Brewster spoke in a newspaper interview about the number of times he or a team-mate had been racially abused. He counted five in just the last seven months.

Graham Rix and Gwyn Williams have been accused of racism and bullying of youth players on a horrifying scale when they were coaches at Chelsea. Peter Beardsley is the subject of similar allegations at Newcastle.

Bournemouth defender Tyrone Mings, in another interview, detailed the vile racist abuse he suffers on social media.

Certain other aspects of Bong's clash with Rodriguez at the Hawthorns at the weekend, in which the West Brom striker is alleged by the Sunday Times to have said: "you're black and you stink" are troubling.

In his version of events on French TV sports channel SFR on Sunday evening, Bong said this when he told referee Martin Atkinson about the alleged remarks by Rodriguez.

"At first the referee told me to get back in position. When he said that, I said no. There are things that you can let pass. But I'm a man and a man of colour."

Why did Atkinson (below) not treat Bong's accusation seriously the first time?

The Argus: In his post-match press conference, West Brom manager Alan Pardew said: "Knowing Jay Rodriguez I find it very difficult to understand."

Pardew has been in charge of West Brom for six weeks. Does he really know Jay Rodriguez?

An FA investigaton will decide if Rodriguez has a case to answer. They are already dealing with another case, young Everton defender Mason Holgate's accusation that Liverpool's Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino racially abused him during the Merseyside FA Cup tie at Anfield.

If Rodriguez and Firmino are found guilty, nothing short of punitive bans will suffice.

The FA announced recently that they will adopt the 'Rooney Rule', guaranteeing to interview at least one candidate from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background for each managerial post.

Although this is an encouraging first step on a long ladder - one which clubs should take on board as well - it is also an admission that the status quo is skewed.

Genuine advancement is dependent on greater BAME representation not only among managers and coaches but also on FA committees and in boardrooms across the country.

Judging by the 'progress' made since my wife was abused all those years ago, I'm not holding my breath.