At one of his first appearances at Anfield, Barnes said that the tea lady had, intentionally or unintentionally, served tea to all the players in the lounge except him, and he made a joke about it by asking light heartedly, "Is it because I'm black?" He also said Liverpool supporters had written to him not to join the club. The only other black player to have appeared for Liverpool at the time was Howard Gayle, who played five games for the Reds at the beginning of the 1980s.