Racism and Football

Okay. Besides the obvious problem with that behavior, it also offends me as a fan. That's just bad, uncreative heckling.

I once got Bo Jackson to turn around and look at me. I take pride in the fact that I didn't have to resort to racist name calling to get his head out of the game.

 

Comments or whole sections making monkey chants?

I don't doubt the cases in the NHL. I have never experienced it in NJ or NY watching pro hockey. We are more into opponents' mothers.

 

Sad but true, if top clubs don't spend (or ALLEGEDLY) have or allocate money to build CCTV systems, what makes you think some po-dunk village club will have the funds or means to? Hell, clubs can barely fill concrete to refurbish their toilet-bowelesque stadiums! Still not justifiable, but reasons as to why no CCTV. If strongly deterring this type of racist mentality in supporter culture is important to these leagues, they will find a way. If not, they will find excuses.

 

The truth is, the supporters are racist because at some level, the community is racist. These douchebags don't turn racist because they walk into a stadium for a soccer game (I'm sure Jim Rome would find some causality).

To me, the much more effective tactic is to let the community know that this will not be tolerated or they won't have a team to root for.

It's sad that other fans didn't rebuke these racists for what they did.

 

You must not go to soccer games much p) . I wouldn't rebuke drunk, angry fans at CCS during a friendly against West Ham United and neither would you. That's why we have security - sometimes those angry, racist drunks get to fighting, and sometimes the only good tactic is to embarrass them by tasing one outside in the parking lot. You can't turn someone not racist, or not violent, or not a vandal, but you can kick them out of the stadium forever and make them look like idiots through the club. The problem with some European clubs is - like you said - that the ownership or community agree with the chants.

 

If I saw someone making monkey chants at a game, I might not be stupid enough to challenge them in the stands, but you can bet I'd do my best to ensure they were pointed out to security and fingered personally by me. Standing by while this shit goes on is one of the main reasons this shit goes on, IMHO.

 

FIFA/UEFA continue to say it is society's problem, maybe so, but that should still require the FAs to not allow these ignorant voice to be heard within stadia

and where else do we see monkey chants and bananas, it may be an underlying societal issue but for far too long idiots seem to have been convinced that they can disappear in a crowd, well no more

 

What national team would be first?
http://www.thejc.com/blogs/marcus-dysch/racism-terraces-shame-beitar-jerusalem
http://www.wsc.co.uk/the-archive/104-Race/1361-anti-arab-league
"almost every ground is subjected to fans glorifying ... Baruch Goldstein (a Jewish terrorist who massacred 29 Palestinians in Hebron), monkey chants at black players and the cries of “terrorist” towards Israeli-Arab players, even if they are part of Israel’s national team. ...
The success of Bnei Sakhnin, an Arab club now in their third season in the top flight, made them an easy target and every game against Beitar in particular has potential for a mass riot. The Sakhnin fans also featured high on the racism index, with their own anti-Jewish chants and violent acts."
" For the ultràs, making the top of the index is a badge of honour – every week fans’ websites call for greater effort."

 

Actually Poland's FA and several of their top clubs have taken a very hard line against supporter misbehavior. In my country Romania they take a very hard line too despite rampant racism. Ownership groups are becoming increasingly more corporate which means they want a well behaved and well controlled supporter scene to open up the market to more families and upper class clients.

Of course results on the ground don't often reward these efforts. Eastern European ultras are passionately far right. In fact the more clubs and FA's clamp down the more protests and anti establishment riots you see. Last season there were probably at least 10 Polish league games behind closed doors ... Same in Romania

So yeah it's unfair to say the authorities aren't trying. It's just an uphill battle

 

I remember Zaragoza was very bad, to the extent of Eto'o leaving the field in tears.

 

There need to be comprehensive policies by international & national association, as well as leagues & clubs, to progressively deal with this problem, as well as other hooligan related issues. If the intent is to exclude bad fans, rather than rehabilitate them, then do it, either directly through ejections & banning orders, or peer pressure through closed doors, bans on home games, bans on away travel, fines, points deductions & relegations.
Referees need to do more, as well. No ref needs to tell an insulted player to play on. Have the ref, or the 4th official, walk towards the offending section & show the yellow card. If the behavior continues, show a second yellow, then the red card, blow the final whistle & forfeit the game. That section sits empty for the next match.
Having stewards, security, police or the military trying to eject individual offenders will only lead to violence. Better message, is to stop & forfeit the match, IMO.

 

I generally don't support the war on supporters. In most countries in Europe these days the issue is overblown. Thousands of fans have their traditional supporter rights infringed because of dozens of real troublemakers. And frankly even some of the troubles are overblown like flares, flags or controversial political messages.

I'm not trying to downplay the few problems that do exists. I just wish the authorities would take more sensible surgical solutions. What they're doing now is slowly killing the soul of supporter culture across the continent.

 

I do agree that a distiction should be made, between physical acts (brawls, pitch invasions) & verbal actions (taunts, chant, banners). However, there need to be some limits on the latter. And, racial or ethnic slurs is a pretty clear line.

Like, when Mexican fans chanted "Osama" at the Azteca?
They did shut up, when USA fans replied, "Cortez!"

 

I had a discussion on Facebook with some friends about this incident and I thought my friend John had an interesting take on one aspect of this...

"I have never heard or seen a football crowd that condemned racist behavior, unfortunately. Actually, I think all the now-ubiquitous public-address announcements condemning racist behavior counterproductive, because they both (1) take the role of condemning the behavior away from the crowd, and as such switch the dynamic that has always operated in Euro stadiums where chants, songs, support, etc. has been grass-roots, with almost nothing top-down (when I lived in Britain there was not even a clock and the only announcements were for goals); and (2) position the racist-condemning announcements as another nameless, faceless manifestation of authority, which as such becomes easy to dismiss or mock by those in football crowds, who are often busy dismissing and mocking other manifestations of authority (the ref., the F.A., the government, the police, etc.)."

 

Maybe in Russia they throw bananas at assholes.

Because Carter is pretty much an asshole.