Europe endure racist incidents with increasing regularity(Soccer)

Dec. 22, 2019

When the Monkey Chants Are for You: A Soccer Star’s View of Racist Abuse

 

Nazi salutes in soccer matches.

 

When I used to compete in field sports I never remember hearing the crowd if you're listening to the crowd you aren't focussing on the game.

Sports 101.

 

This is media driven. It is interesting though. I'm more often asked about American racism by European people I meet on different projects. I really don't hear much about how racist Europeans are unless it's from Oprah or any number of folks from the middle east (who themselves have some rather unsavory things they say about Europeans.

What I don't get is why the media has done this so much in sports. The US-based ESPN sports network is a shell of its former glory since it started reporting on political and racial issues. And we have seen sports legends dethroned in an instant, people like Howard Cosell, Jimmie the Greek and John Rocker. A whole industry has evolved around people's feelings and the enforcement is handled like an inquisition.

Granted, saying stupid shit will get you fired. We all face that risk. I work for an American company that was founded in Sweden but is owned and controlled by a Japanese firm. From my vantage I see everyone walking on eggshells. We had a whole production team go on strike and then quit after a visitor from the home office made it clear that even though the American workers drove the quarterly profits for the previous 3 years, the raises and bonuses were going to Japan.

There is just no nice way to deliver that kind of news. I suspect one of the disposable managers will fall on his sword, probably the one in the Ohio office.

I can't say a word, I'm just there to write the report and the lessons learned presentation. It's like being the code operator on a ship. Some of the flashes of light from the other ship are top secret information. But as a signal operator, you are not to say a word, only report directly what you read. I hear all the shit and can't say a thing. On the up side, I know exactly which insults will get you fired!

 

It has always been a problem in european soccer. That it now gets more attention in the media doesn't make it a hoax.

 

Quite so. During the 2 1/2 centuries between the years 1400 and 1650, English kings banned Celtic ball games, the only thing resembling soccer native to Europe, several times. The grounds for banning such sport? They believed it incited sin and violence among the peasants who played and cheered. So racist.

 

That has nothing to do with race. And little with soccer as we know it.
If those ball games were banned because it being celtic in origin it would have something to do with ethnic discrimination, but hey apparently that wasn't the reason.

 

As one old enough to remember the 1960s - when the decade was 'Black and White' before Colour was became the way
Moving on to the 1970s the media focussing on the hooliganism and mindless violence that occurred - that wasn't hype, it was real!
I also remember the racist chants and abuse suffered by those of Colour during the 1980s, I had thought that this was behind us - but alas = No.
It's probably wrong to suggest Soccer has got 'nothing' to do with it, for the gathering of masses where there is competition, the stirring of emotions - especially to the weak-minded/easily influenced and or alcoholic/drug induced individuals - will provoke an over-active cause of action/s - and (sadly) Colour an easy option for/to blame.
The political reaction to Brexit sees how simple it is to stir up agitation of groups against others and the Colour card again an easy point of/to blame. This makes it moreover a society issue and as such a shared responsibility.

 

Education: - We must "Teach our Children well"
The Rights of individuals - regardless of race, religion, creed, colour are equal.
Tolerance of others views/opinion - so long as they are equally presented in an educational way.
Respect others: treat people as you would expect to be treated.
Do not stand by and let others receive persecution without intervention (either actual or by comprehensive report of) - (Be Safe!)
Harm no one, but take no shit - Let Conviction and Conscience be your guide/s

 

You say "always," yet you're unwilling or unable to go back even as far as 1650? Apparently, it wasn't always so.

Celtic-English conflict not racial? It's hardly been a brotherhood. Moreover, Strabo, over 1,900 years ago refers to the Celtic/Galatic people as a "race." It was hardly a novel idea, even then, nor one abandoned since then. As to the origin of soccer, and the English Crown's view of Celtic ball games, it was exactly the reason.

Before seeking a teaching position in the field of history, one ought to do more than casually read a single comic book on the subject. Perhaps a FIFA Football game (Soccer only in North America) by EA Sports for the Xbox platform is the source of the eternal wisdom posted. It's a marginal source, at best, certainly not the Babylonian Talmud.

Even with a short attention span, I suppose it isn't difficult to imagine the racist taunts hurled by Belgian fans in 1904 at these poor pale French fellows.



And the racism the Austrian team had to endure in Stockholm in 1912? Nothing short of shameful.

 

Racism in any sport is disgusting.
This is what it is like in aussie rules footy.
AFL won't shy away from calling out social media racism

 

Calling some indigenous person that is disgusting.

 

I hope you're just being silly here. I'm willing to go back to the 1600s to discuss racist issues. But it's not about the ball game that's now called soccer then.

Why I said that didn't seem about race is because you gave several reasons those games were banned for the peasants and none of those reasons are about race either.

So no, it was a completely different situation. A different ball game and a different kind of racist problem.

 

You brought it upon yourself. The explicitly stated point of the original posting was that racist incidents in European soccer are increasing, which they are. You disputed that, saying it's always been so. When the rabbit supported your weak position and showed you how indefensible it was, you lost all sense of your own argument.

To make this as clear to you as it was to me reading this thread, how overtly racist was European soccer in 1904, and in 1912, when the players were essentially all white, as were the crowds seeing the matches? Not very. The French team playing in Belgium in 1904 experienced no racism. The rabbit showed you that. The Austrian team playing in Sweden in 1912 experienced no racism. The rabbit showed you that. It's obviously different today in that there's more overt racism. There's more racial diversity in European society, There's more racial diversity on the pitch in European Soccer. There's more racial diversity in crowds in and around the stadiums of Europe. Things have changed since the dawn of European soccer, and one of those changes is the amount of visible, audible racism.

You seem to be arguing with yourself here.