Hopefully FIFA/UEFA will take decisive action as soon as possible, something to force the Spanish FA to take responsibility and work towards preventing such a similar situation happening again. The people in charge should always be taking responsibility, dreadful that this didn't happen straight away. Racism is a universal problem which afflicts virtually every country in the world, but the fact it happens elsewhere or other problems doesn't make it excusable, pointing the finger at the very country whose players they've been racist towards is a childish act which does nothing to make the problem go away.
FIFA/UEFA don´t need to force Spanish FA. Spanish FA will take action from this moment before that UEFA/FIFA has investigating. Of course, I agree with you that racism or xenophobia are not excusable.
Quite the opposite actually. FIFA has to take action on this (regardless of any actions of the Spanish FA) as if they don't it sets a precedent that nations can get away with racist behaviour from some of their fans if they appear to be taking action on the matter (which not all nations would actually do - although I think the Olympic bid will mean any action the Spanish FA/government take will be genuine)
Shanno No you are wrong, when they poke fun at one Spaniard they are actually sterotyping the whole nation. These characters are suppose to represent the whole nation and ethnic group. Let's face it a joke is a joke and everybody pokes fun at one another, but when its done to make fun and to sterotype it can lead to incidents such as those in Madrid. I got offended by what you said. You cannot defend that in anyway. Your remarks about my ancestors were wrong. If you had said that those fans making the noises are as bad as some of their ancestors, then maybe you can defend it, but when you refer to all Spaniards as being 'oily" then it is you who are wrong and I refuse to argue with you According to you all Spaniards are racist and you are not because your kids are only half white, well if that is your argument then all Spaniards cannot be racist because my girlfirend of many years is not white . Even at the end of your statement you can't help yourself.
i reale think the incident at the game was HORRIBLY DISGUSTING! there is racism around the world nd everywhere u go u c or hear about it! itz reale a shame those few spaniards made the entire country seem racist nd apalling! england should have quit playing nd left! nd hopefully spain/fans will have a consequence 2 deal with! w/e it is as long as its something 2 show that it was wrong! mayb spain should play there next game in an empty stadium or sumthing but it def shouldn't be 4gotten! i was watching the news nd they actaully showed a clip from one of the team's training sessions nd it showed the spanish coach saying racist things alos bout the english players! ppl need 2 b punished nd take this more seriously!!!!!!!
Can you provide a link to this story about Aragones making comments about the English team? This is the first I have heard of it and would be surprised if it was true - even Aragones could not be that stupid....
i really stand against racism and this is so sad, but for me i`m not surprised that racism in spain is at this high level, i remember way back watching deportivo la coruna when cameroonian shot stopper songo`o was thier number one, he was racially abused and at one time it reall got bad that they three bananas behind the goal were he was, it was just sick and sad to watch, i`m not suprised that the only black spanish international, the combative versatile midfield anchorman vicente engonga dispite his skills and talent, he only earned only 14 caps, a sorry state for spanish football. look at the case of the former liverpool and england sharp shooter john barnes, racially abused when ever england played against nations like norway, denmark, it was the same case when it came to other black players in the england team during the 90s, paul ince, des walker , it`s just sad really.
I only saw the highlights and it didn't look or sound as if they were getting any stick. Haven't seen anything reported either, so I guess not.
I think that Spain or any National team should not play again in the Bernabeu for years. Real Madrid should be forced to control the Ultra Sur, as FC Barcelona did with their radical groups. I believe that they were not only the Ultra Sur making the chants last wednesday, but they receive simpathy from part of the other supporters as Florentino Pérez still gives them protection. There is no specific law against racism in sport in Spain, perhaps because there has not been this kind of incidents in the past or nobody gave them the importance as it has been in England, the government should aprove one specific law against racism in sports as soon as possible, so that when things like this happen again the match could be stopped and the police act against the groups of people with racist consigns as if it was a nazi concentration. This is not a debate about who is more racist, England or Spain, or about if this is going to happen in Villarreal in next UEFA match with an English team. Well maybe this isn't either about whether some English newspapers are lying or exagerating or not. Spain can be labeled as a country with racist problems after this, but not as a racist country, for there is a Constitution that defends equality among persons from any race. But the fact is that in normal life, I mean, out of sports, there is racism, in many places, not only in Madrid, but in other parts of Spain, in other countries apart from England and Spain, and every civilized country should be aware after what happened in Madrid.
A couple of interesting articles which include comments by people who know Spain very well. They make the point that, as Spain hasn't had a history of immigration, (partly as a result of it being a fascist dictatorship until 1975), it's not so much a question of it being racist.. it's more a matter of it being thought not that important to be ANTI-racist, according to these people anyway. Without significant numbers of people of different race and from different cultures being in your community as they are in the UK it maybe isn't seen as so important yet. In this regard they are a bit like the East European countries. http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/28297-print.shtml 'Graham Hunter, a sports journalist based in Spain, attends football matches across the country on a weekly basis. He believes racist chants are nothing out of the ordinary. "It is a weekly occurrence, and there is no culture of people objecting to it or pointing someone out to a steward. I have never seen anyone reprimanded or removed from a stadium for that kind of behaviour. Sadly, when I see a black player reacting, the whole crowd joins in. It is not regarded as something utterly reprehensible like it is here," he says.' 'Andy Durgan is a lecturer at the University of Barcelona and has lived in Spain for almost 20 years. "The problem in Spain is not so much racism, but that there hasn't been much anti-racism yet," he says. "We had the same problem in Britain 30 years ago, and the reason it stopped is that people became more aware of the problem. In Spain, people still make racist remarks, not actually knowing they are racist remarks. In Britain, we are aware of what is racist and what is not, even though it doesn't mean it stops everyone being racist."' http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,6903,1356233,00.html Guillem Balague writing, says, 'Valencia has been accused twice in the past two years of racist abuse at the Mestalla (and Uefa, by the way, have not punished them). Roberto Carlos is called 'black bastard' even by his own Real Madrid fans at the Bernabéu. Ignorant people do not see their ignorance and we have not developed the instruments that England has to deal with racial issues.'
More proof (if it were ever needed) that we're not exactly perfect ourselves, but we do know how to react to racism in football properly.
Explain how it's a joke. Start by contrasting the Spanish reaction to last Wednesday's mass racism with the British reaction to yesterday's minor infraction featuring "one or two" people. One of whom was ejected from the ground immediately. Please don't post if you're too stupid to contribute usefully, it really isn't much to ask.
It is like saying, our English racists are the same scum that Spanish ones, but the non-racists here are better than Spaniards. So at the end, all was the fault of the non-racists in Spain. You make me laugh!
Who is too stupid? I will not post again here. Firstly because you are not civilized enough to discuss without insulting and secondly because I don't have to defend myself from being racist when I am black and I don't have to defend myself from being Spanish when I didn't go to the Bernabeu. Your solution to fight against racists is a xenophobic reaction against Spanish and all that smells Spanish.
Hey man compare this to the few Detroit Piston Fans last friday who acted like idiots. Are you prepared to say all the Pistons fans will react that way? I agree...Use your brain man , God was nice enough to give you one.
Welll - either that or he was using the comparison between the two events to demonstrate the differences in the reactions from the governing bodies - one being firmly committed to stamping out racism, the other, apparently, not....
Yes, that's more or less it. You see, whether you like it or not (and you clearly don't) there IS a difference between how we respond to racism in football and the way the Spanish have just proven they do. And how we do it is much, much better. We also do more to combat racism from the outset, prevention rather than cure, so to speak. We are, in short, better, more progressive, more sensible, intelligent and constructive in dealing with racism in sport than the Spanish. Simple fact. You can squeal and wail all you want, it won't make it less of a fact, nor will it make it any less simply so. You are. Or rather, your attempts to argue the inarguable are stupid. I dunno - in real life you might be incredibly intelligent, but all we have to go on is what you post here. And that is stupid. Was I asking you to? I don't recall accusing you of being racist, nor do I remember claiming that you have something to apologise for simply because you are Spanish. That you have some form of "issue" with this is really down to you. Maybe you should be less touchy. Maybe you should not get embroiled in discussions from a hopelessly idiotic perspective. Full days ago now, you could have used this thread to accept the basic reality of racism in Spanish sport. But you chose to argue on. And on. And on and on and on. Your choice, don't cry about it now.
Then, you are the most intelligent here when you need to call someone stupid and saying my perspective is idiotic instead of using your brain for being constructive. But I will not reply to that. I am not at your level. The only problem is that I accepted from my first post about this that Spain has problems with racism, that Spanish football deserves sanctions and that I feel shame for being from the same country of that scum making the chants, which I have repeated several times, but you can´t read well or only read what you can use against the "racist spanish scum". Accepting the basic reality of racism in Spain doesn´t seem to be enough, I should as well recognize how wonderful the situation is in England. The difference is that when some English make monkey chants the incident makes you feel proud instead of shame. I don´t need to refer incidents from your past, I remember Paul Ince, because you are arguing everything in terms of comparison as if this was a competition. You never criticize anything about England and that shows that the problem of racism is not important for you even if you see it everyday.
Bloody hell, simmer down, eh? It's like debating with a demented Auntie or something. It's lovely that you have condemned the racists and all that yadda yadda - really, it is and I acknowledge your shame, etc, etc. Thing is, we didn't even have anything to say to each other until you labelled the irrefutable fact that we in Britain currently respond in a much better manner to racism in sport than the SPanish do a "good joke". The moment you took that regrettable decision, you made yourself look stupid and you were dealt with accordingly. You're fault, not mine.