Sickening Racism Lives on in Football
Football has a side to it which continues to throb with a negative form of passion, and reflects a far less positive and rather ugly view of human nature.
Cisse is the latest victim of racial abuse
Football is an activity that people of all different races and religions can participate and become involved in with enjoyment and enthusiasm. It is a team game that brings people together with a shared passion and common competitiveness, and for many, is a huge factor of their lives. It does however, have a side to it which continues to throb with another form of passion, and reflects a far less positive and rather ugly view of human nature.
Racism, on the face of it, is utterly ludicrous. What are you achieving from violently or verbally abusing another person because of the colour of their skin? Very little is the answer, and few racists would have a plausible or fair explanation as to the reasons behind a racist comment or chant. Despite this, in crowds of people who are predominantly men with an ardent and emotional "us against them" mentality, racism has unfortunately been a common feature up and down the country for a number of years.
In the 1970's and 80's, racism was rampant in football, with regular gestures of racial abuse hatefully appearing in football stadiums, whether it be monkey chants, offensive banners, vile threats or even the throwing of objects - many a black player fell victim to such attacks. Cyrille Regis, the former West Bromwich Albion striker from France who played in the English First Division for most of his 20 year playing career, was the subject of monkey chants from fans on his away debut against Newcastle, and was later sent a bullet in the post.
Fast forward thirty years, and you would hope that this sort of despicable abuse had been eradicated. The situation has certainly been improved upon, with different races and cultures far more accepted in England thanks to the huge influx of foreign stars to the Premier League, however in light of recent events, there are still those out there who somehow find it acceptable to continue race-based hatred.
The much publicized Luis Suarez case allowed the issue of racism to rear its ugly head once again, and in full view of the nation. The support for Suarez and continuous insistence of his innocence from Liverpool despite being charged by the FA, has done little to help the cause, whilst the incredible booing of the alleged victim in the case, Patrice Evra was unbelievable ignorance from large sections of Liverpool's fan base. One man was clearly shown on television making a monkey gesture towards Manchester United's captain, which once again raises the question; why do people still believe this is acceptable?
The case of Regis of West Brom thirty years ago, as mentioned, saw a bullet sent to him in the post. Parallels can easily be drawn with a present case involving QPR's Anton Ferdinand and the alleged antagonist, Chelsea's John Terry in which, after reporting racial abuse, Ferdinand received a bullet in the post along with a threatening letter.
Former Liverpool striker, Djibril Cisse, who recently joined QPR in the January transfer window was the subject of abuse online via the social networking site, Twitter. He attempted to expose the perpetrators by re-tweeting their abuse and replying to them, asking why he deserved such pointless and needless hatred. The striker said he was "shocked" calling the abusers "brainless" who should be "ashamed." His reaction was admirable, with the Frenchman clearly and rightfully defying wrongdoers who continue to crop up, behind their computer screens, (importantly giving them a degree of anonymity) and expose the continued abuse player suffer.
The Football Association displayed their strong stance on the taboo issue by giving Suarez and eight match ban and considerable fine, whilst John Terry will be tried in court. Fans in stadiums and in front of their keyboards however, have the terrible mentality that because people around them are seen to do it, it is acceptable for them to join in. It isn't. It has to stop.
However, racism, like all forms of discrimination, will only ever end when stupidity ends and reason prevails. Look around you. Stupidity and ignorance is everywhere. This issue will continue, but so must the punishments, and they must continue to be fittingly severe.
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