Is this ban enough to stop racism, I think not

[teessidetrev]

Wisla Krakow defender Nikola Mijailovic has been banned for five Uefa matches for the racial abuse of Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy.
The Serbian was found guilty of the offence that took place when the sides met on 19 October, by European football's governing body Uefa.

The 24-year-old was charged based on a complaint by Blackburn, the FA and match referee Stefan Johannesson.

Mijailovic, who denied the allegations, has until Monday to appeal.

http://www.roosroosroos.com.au/

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Wisla Krakow defender Nikola Mijailovic has been banned for five Uefa matches for the racial abuse of Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy.
The Serbian was found guilty of the offence that took place when the sides met on 19 October, by European football's governing body Uefa.

The 24-year-old was charged based on a complaint by Blackburn, the FA and match referee Stefan Johannesson.

Mijailovic, who denied the allegations, has until Monday to appeal.

http://www.roosroosroos.com.au/
It's going to be very difficult to stop racism completely. No matter how many athletes, coaches, owners, and fans go against racism there will always be the minority who are too close-minded and full of hate. You can ban players, empty stadiums, and remove owners or shareholders, whatever you do it will be difficult to change their opinions.

[michaec]

It's not very often that I stick up for UEFA, but what exactly do you expect them to do? They have been roundly criticized in the past for doing nothing, now they hand out a five match ban and that's still not enough? At least they are doing what they can now, if other players get the message and stop indulging in racist behavoir towards their oppponents then that must be a good thing.

[sinner78]

so did they have actual taped evidence of the player handing out the abuse?
have they employed lip readers??
or did they just go by the word of benni mcCarthy??
going by the word of a player alone is like convicting someone without any neutral evidence.
materrazzi got banned for some basic trash talk to zidane .So players can get banned for off ball comments now eh???

[chrizzah]

I actually think the ban would be a lot better coming from the club (of course it would be impossible to mandate this). The club would be a penalty from within the society that is more accepting of racism whereas UEFA can be viewed as a meddling outside factor. Racism is a societal issue and bans from UEFA will perhaps silence racists at matches without eliminating the underlying ignorance. A ban from the club lets the player know that those around him are not accepting his views and would be more likely to make someone alter his thinking. In a case like this (if it is substantiated of course), it would be very easy for the club to have preemptively imposed a ban.

From what I read, other Blackburn players corroborated McCarthy's comments. Whether that is impartial or not is another question.

[sinner78]

From what I read, other Blackburn players corroborated McCarthy's comments. Whether that is impartial or not is another question.

team mate corroboration aint enough.
To get some kind of conviction they would at least need one of the officials to spot it.
otherwise players can just play the race card to get opposition players banned.
lets say its a european two legged tie and someone gets banned for the 2nd leg for alleged comments.

[CescMate]

Accounts from officials who witnessed racist abuse after the match have apparently been used.

[lanman]

team mate corroboration aint enough.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/blackburn_rovers/6089214.stm

The 24-year-old was charged based on a complaint by Blackburn, the FA and match referee Stefan Johannesson.

[655321]

The game itself cannot "stop racism", but it can do it's best to make sure that it's not brought on disply inside the stadiums. If this ban also includes not being payed for the matches you miss, then I say it's not a bad start and would certainly make players think twice before using racial slurs. Maybe upping the number of matches you miss for multiple infractions would help, too.

[Alan_V]

The 24-year-old was charged based on a complaint by Blackburn, the FA and match referee Stefan Johannesson.

That strongly suggests that the ref (4th official or an AR) overheard the comment, which would mean that the ref has no authority within the laws of the game to send a player off for racial abuse?

[Milliano]

Racism is a societal issue and bans from UEFA will perhaps silence racists at matches without eliminating the underlying ignorance.

That's a different issue though. Ignorance doesn't necessarily have anything to do with this. It involves a player, who isn't even necessarily a racist person, is saying insults to an opponent to affect their performance. Does Materazzi really hate Zidane's family, or ethnic Berbers? I doubt it. Even if racism was all but eliminated from society, it's not necessarily going to stop players from using racial insults.

The game itself cannot "stop racism", but it can do it's best to make sure that it's not brought on disply inside the stadiums.

I agree. In regards to the thread title... no it will not stop it, but it can certainly help reduce it. Better than doing nothing like UEFA and FIFA in the past.

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Does Materazzi really hate Zidane's family, or ethnic Berbers? I doubt it. Even if racism was all but eliminated from society, it's not necessarily going to stop players from using racial insults.

To stop racism, people must stop allowing these insults or "jokes" to occur. I don't think Materazzi's remarks are isolated incidents. Even if players don't mean it or are just trying to get the player riled up, that then shows that it's alright for fans to do the same. It's not right for players to do, and it's not right for fans to do.