I think the issue is that, race is never an issue until things are going wrong, then it'll be the first thing a selection of peope will latch onto.
As has been shown all over the country recently, the response given to the same acts, carried out by different groups are responded to, reported on and reacted to completely differently.
If you're from a minority living in this country, you are distinctly aware that when brick hits the fan, you are likely to get reduced to your difference, when what you have or haven't done is being critiqued.
Maguire being called slabhead is in no way comparable to Heskey being called monkey.
Look at the report into commentator bias with players with lighter skin more often praised for intelligence and power and pace referenced more often if player has darker skin. These opinons filter into everything that we do and for some of us are on the reciving end of.