Racism in football
- Thread starter Fk_Pitt
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There are three things that need to be said about the most recent incident in Valencia:
(1) For the first time that I can remember in La Liga, arrests have been made. They weren’t made at the stadium, but the Mestella apparently has a state of the art security camera system which enabled police to identify at least some of the perpetrators. There are reports in the Spanish newspapers that many (the number varies between 10 and 100 depending on which tabloid sports newspaper you read) are facing prosecution or bans. This is one time that Teba, the eunuch who heads La Liga, won’t be able to claim “there is nothing we can do because we can’t identify the perpetrators.”
(2) What happened is abhorrent to a civilized society.
(3) There is a reason most of these incidents involve Vinicius Jr. There were 4 black players in the RM lineup for that match, yet the racial taunting was almost exclusively directed at him. He is a world class player but he also is a premiere world class jerk. His attitude invites taunting; it’s unfortunate that so much of the time it is racial. The first incident at Valencia came after a world class dive by him, followed by an arm-swinging, shouting lengthy display of rage that the Valencia player who actually almost didn’t touch him wasn’t booked, followed by his own ruthless tackle of that same Valencia player 30 seconds later for which he wasn’t booked. Had the taunting not been racial, it would have been justified. Furthermore, his reaction to the first incident of racial taunting almost assured that more would occur. And, it did.
(1) For the first time that I can remember in La Liga, arrests have been made. They weren’t made at the stadium, but the Mestella apparently has a state of the art security camera system which enabled police to identify at least some of the perpetrators. There are reports in the Spanish newspapers that many (the number varies between 10 and 100 depending on which tabloid sports newspaper you read) are facing prosecution or bans. This is one time that Teba, the eunuch who heads La Liga, won’t be able to claim “there is nothing we can do because we can’t identify the perpetrators.”
(2) What happened is abhorrent to a civilized society.
(3) There is a reason most of these incidents involve Vinicius Jr. There were 4 black players in the RM lineup for that match, yet the racial taunting was almost exclusively directed at him. He is a world class player but he also is a premiere world class jerk. His attitude invites taunting; it’s unfortunate that so much of the time it is racial. The first incident at Valencia came after a world class dive by him, followed by an arm-swinging, shouting lengthy display of rage that the Valencia player who actually almost didn’t touch him wasn’t booked, followed by his own ruthless tackle of that same Valencia player 30 seconds later for which he wasn’t booked. Had the taunting not been racial, it would have been justified. Furthermore, his reaction to the first incident of racial taunting almost assured that more would occur. And, it did.
I always find it amusing when people claim the U.S. is by far one of the most racist countries in the world.
People are getting pounded any time they say Vini brought it all on himself. As you said, there are nuances, and that usually is the case with everything. Nothing is ever black and white. Still, no one deserves that type of racial abuse. It makes me think of the most divisive athlete of our generation, and I think that’s Kapernick. The guy was and is hated, but it’s because of his activism. He divided a nation, not because the nation was divided on race, we weren’t. We were divided on the way he chose to protest and the offensive way he attacked our nation. And unless I am wrong and misremembering, there were no racial abuses thrown his way in stadiums. Plenty of Bronx cheers though.
I couldn’t agree with you less about Kapernick, but I don’t think this is the time or place to debate that.
I think there is less racism in Spain than there is in the United States. At least, that is true of Barcelona. I can’t speak to the rest of Spain. The reason it surfaces so often in La Liga is because in almost every Spanish stadium the hooligans have their own section of the stadium, usually behind the goal and close to the pitch. They appropriate part of the general admission stands and, hell, who else is going to want to sit there and be subjected to them.
Barca has them too, but here the main thing they do is bang on big drums all game long. They probably hurl racial insults occasionally, but no one hears them over the drums.
Vini Jr. has made himself into a lightning rod. He is a volatile player. I think he is one of the top 10 players in the world. I also hate him. Not because he is good. Not because he is black. Because he is a world class jerk. I would have insulted him too if he had been in earshot when the first incident at the Mestella occurred. He deserved to be taunted for what he did. Just not racially.
Meanwhile, La Liga annulled the red card he was deservedly given. All that will do is encourage him to be more of a baby the next time he has a chance. But, it’s RM and their red cards routinely get reversed by La Liga. Valverde got no punishment for punching a player on the field and then going after him and punching him again in the parking lot after the match. Pepe years ago got his red card for deliberately stepping on Messi’s hand with his cleats reversed. Sergio Ramos has the La Liga record for most red cards reversed in a career. (Of course, he also has the record for the most red cards.)
I think there is less racism in Spain than there is in the United States. At least, that is true of Barcelona. I can’t speak to the rest of Spain. The reason it surfaces so often in La Liga is because in almost every Spanish stadium the hooligans have their own section of the stadium, usually behind the goal and close to the pitch. They appropriate part of the general admission stands and, hell, who else is going to want to sit there and be subjected to them.
Barca has them too, but here the main thing they do is bang on big drums all game long. They probably hurl racial insults occasionally, but no one hears them over the drums.
Vini Jr. has made himself into a lightning rod. He is a volatile player. I think he is one of the top 10 players in the world. I also hate him. Not because he is good. Not because he is black. Because he is a world class jerk. I would have insulted him too if he had been in earshot when the first incident at the Mestella occurred. He deserved to be taunted for what he did. Just not racially.
Meanwhile, La Liga annulled the red card he was deservedly given. All that will do is encourage him to be more of a baby the next time he has a chance. But, it’s RM and their red cards routinely get reversed by La Liga. Valverde got no punishment for punching a player on the field and then going after him and punching him again in the parking lot after the match. Pepe years ago got his red card for deliberately stepping on Messi’s hand with his cleats reversed. Sergio Ramos has the La Liga record for most red cards reversed in a career. (Of course, he also has the record for the most red cards.)
America is not racist. It’s the best place in the world for minorities to live and that’s why they all want to live here. Politicians and special interests want people to believe that it’s a racist country for their own power. And as long as people allow these special interests to influence them, then they’ll believe anything. Every country has racism and bigotry so I am not denying it exists here…Just not the way some people would like you to think.
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