Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has vehemently criticised Chelsea and their 'cocky' manager Andre Villas-Boas for for 'failing to take racism seriously' , and for claiming that the John Terry-Anton Ferdinand situation had been 'blown out of proportion'.
Collymore, scathed:
"You can now add Chelsea to the list of top clubs who fail to take racism seriously. Instead of launching an internal investigation, boss Villas-Boas sat in a press conference and in his cocky manner backed John Terry 100 per cent over what happened with Anton Ferdinand...and claimed the matter had been blown out of proportion.
"On Friday he was telling us we should all be proud of Terry because he is the England captain 'like I am proud of Cristiano Ronaldo as the captain of Portugal. I want to make it clear that Terry is innocent until proven guilty, but AVB’s comments are irresponsible beyond belief. For him to wholeheartedly support his skipper – and suggest his conduct is beyond reproach simply because he is England captain – astounds me".
I totally agree with Collymore. It's perfectly possible to support players publicly in this kind of situation without offering absolute support that seems to suggest that there's no possibly way the player could be guilty.
Even Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has made some ill-advised comments about the issue in recently. For example: in his press conference on Friday at Anfield, Dalglish argued that racism 'was not prevalent in the game'.
With the greatest respect, this is an absolutely ridiculous statement to make; Dalglish is intelligent enough to know that racism is a problem in football, and it's disappointing that he basically trivialised the issue by suggesting it's not a widespread problem.
I think AVB should be extremely careful about offering unequivocal support for Terry, especially given his past indiscretions. If it turns out that he is guilty, AVB's judgment will inevitably be called into question, and his credibility will be shot.
Collymore, who has also experienced racial abuse on the pitch, concluded:
"It is one thing to hear the ridiculous opinions of a 20-year-old, who has learned his behaviour from bigoted elders on a council estate where there may be racial tension, but to hear the Portuguese manager of one of our biggest clubs, a man who knows how football can unite and divide people, completely palm off the issue has made me so angry.
"In 20 years’ time, I just hope the attitude of Villas-Boas is considered as neanderthal and offensive as hurling a banana at a black footballer would be today".
Not that Terry will be found guilty. As I highlighted in a recent article, in the history of football, no top-flight footballer has ever been convicted of racial abuse. That's a disgraceful statistic, and just highlights the spineless indifference of the English football's alleged governing body.
Jaimie Kanwar
Collymore, scathed:
"You can now add Chelsea to the list of top clubs who fail to take racism seriously. Instead of launching an internal investigation, boss Villas-Boas sat in a press conference and in his cocky manner backed John Terry 100 per cent over what happened with Anton Ferdinand...and claimed the matter had been blown out of proportion.
"On Friday he was telling us we should all be proud of Terry because he is the England captain 'like I am proud of Cristiano Ronaldo as the captain of Portugal. I want to make it clear that Terry is innocent until proven guilty, but AVB’s comments are irresponsible beyond belief. For him to wholeheartedly support his skipper – and suggest his conduct is beyond reproach simply because he is England captain – astounds me".
I totally agree with Collymore. It's perfectly possible to support players publicly in this kind of situation without offering absolute support that seems to suggest that there's no possibly way the player could be guilty.
Even Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has made some ill-advised comments about the issue in recently. For example: in his press conference on Friday at Anfield, Dalglish argued that racism 'was not prevalent in the game'.
With the greatest respect, this is an absolutely ridiculous statement to make; Dalglish is intelligent enough to know that racism is a problem in football, and it's disappointing that he basically trivialised the issue by suggesting it's not a widespread problem.
I think AVB should be extremely careful about offering unequivocal support for Terry, especially given his past indiscretions. If it turns out that he is guilty, AVB's judgment will inevitably be called into question, and his credibility will be shot.
Collymore, who has also experienced racial abuse on the pitch, concluded:
"It is one thing to hear the ridiculous opinions of a 20-year-old, who has learned his behaviour from bigoted elders on a council estate where there may be racial tension, but to hear the Portuguese manager of one of our biggest clubs, a man who knows how football can unite and divide people, completely palm off the issue has made me so angry.
"In 20 years’ time, I just hope the attitude of Villas-Boas is considered as neanderthal and offensive as hurling a banana at a black footballer would be today".
Not that Terry will be found guilty. As I highlighted in a recent article, in the history of football, no top-flight footballer has ever been convicted of racial abuse. That's a disgraceful statistic, and just highlights the spineless indifference of the English football's alleged governing body.
Jaimie Kanwar
Hi Jamie
ReplyDeleteWould not want you to misquote Kenny
“I do not think racism is prevalent in the game here and it certainly isn’t at this football club.”
If you take part of a sentence you can change the meaning of what is said. I know you would not like to be misquoted yourself.
CJ
When Stan Collymore speaks nations listen
ReplyDeleteNice to hear Collymore sneering about kids on council estates he clearly likes to forget his working class roots now he is the world authority on self perceived racial issues
ReplyDeleteGet a grip. I have no misquoted him at all. There are two parts to that sentence, and the second part does not in any way chance the meaning of the first part. KD says ;I do not think football is prevalent in the game HERE', i.e. in England.
ReplyDeleteNice try though.
Bollocks. Of course it is permissible for a manager to believe 100% that his player has not racially abused anyone. That should not get anyone angry. And anything concerning Terry is always blown out of proportion by the media (which is to be expected as he is the England captain - and very good at it).
ReplyDeleteJust read what AVB said and do not read anything else there.
People just never learn: if you persist with posting comments that attack the person rather than the argument, your post will be deleted. keep them coming; makes no difference to me.
ReplyDeleteor was it Here - at Liverpool Football club - 'Get a grip' a bit childish Jaimie. 'Kenny can do no wrong' brigade - lets label people we don't know -they don't have a mind of their own. I am not the spin doctor here I just gave the full quote you did not. I am quite happy to let people make their own minds up on whether you have decided to 'Interpret' in your way but you have been selective in what you included as his quote. This is not a personal attack but pointing out that you need to quote the whole sentence then make your point otherwise you sell yourself short and leave yourself open to accusations of putting your spin on his comments.
ReplyDeleteCJ
Jaimie you must be a nigger acting all so defensively. Or maybe you see urself as a black shit
ReplyDeleteBut that's the point - there is no spin; you are the one trying to introduce spin into the proceedings by trying to alter the unambiguous meaning of what Dalglish said. KD said racism is not prevalent in the English game. There is only one meaning to that. End of story.
ReplyDeleteI honestly think racism is blown out of proportion. Why is is insulting someones skin colour different to insulting a religion or sexual preferance. If you are racially abused take it on the chin be a man. People say things in the heat of the moment that they don't neccessarily mean. How often are Jews insulted at grounds or homosexuals
ReplyDeleteI come from a place where racism was out of control in the past. People get on so well here now
Of course a manager can show 100% support, he knows what was said and in what context it was said.
ReplyDeleteArent you attacking Daglish and AVB? you cant expect people not to attack you when you are attacking the managers of their respective clubs, and why cant a manager back his players? ferguson has backed evra yet there is no witness or video footage to back up evra's claims of racial abuse from suarez... yet he was apparently racially abused over 10 times, i personally think terry is in a unwinnable situation as regardless of how he said it he used racial words in what he said, the funny thing is he will be dealt with and no doubt punished severely (when he might be telling the truth about why he said it) because of the words he used, yet when suarez IS cleared as he in my opinion cannot surely be found guilty (as this is an age when everything is picked up on one camera at least) then evra will not have to answer to anyone, though i totally disagree with anything that racist i do believe racial abuse works one way and if this had been ferdinand or evra been accused of racial abuse the other way round then this article and many others would not have been written.
ReplyDeleteif this had been ferdinand or evra been accused of racial abuse the other way round then this article and many others would not have been written.
ReplyDeleteAbsolute nonsense. How do you know that? What evidence is there that would allow you to infer that? Liverpool players are involved hence I'm highlighting it, and if it was Ferdinand and Evra who were accused, I'd still be writing about it.
jamie you are a prick.
ReplyDeleteabout the same amount of evidence that the evra complaint has, not much... but people are still writing about it, what i am saying is i doubt there would be as much interest, it seems to be all about proving a player/club has a negative attitude to the black race rather then trying to prove the player/club doesnt!!
ReplyDeleteJust to add fuel to the part you replied about, havent you noticed that since sky and everyone else came out and said no evidence has been found to back up evra's claim against suarez that the headlines have stopped and its gone quiet about that apparent case of racial abuse?
intrestin an right
ReplyDeleteI'm not really interested in what Sky are doing, or anyone else. The issue is still ongoing, and the wider issue of racism in football still exists, and needs to be properly addressed.
ReplyDeleteThe whole discussion is entirely subjective - First I'd like to say that Collymore is not an LFC striker; & as such, I wouldn't give many of his statements much attention; especially as he has shown he's got some sort of axe to grind.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most important things Dalglish is quoted as saying is: "I DON'T THINK it's prevalent in the game here..."; so he quite obviously doesn't say 'It ISN'T prevalent' - I would suggest this is because he is deliberately being subjective. It's worth noting that even Ferguson implied something similar whilst he had to be seen publicly backing his player. So in regard to statements like these made by managers; I'm of the opinion that there is NOTHING TO REPORT, as they're simply saying what I'd expect them to say.
But it's also interesting to read what the QPR Chairman is quoting as saying; who, it has to be said, would find an advantage in backing accusations of racism against his club's players: Malaysian Tony Fernandes told 5 live's Sportsweek: "Coming from a foreign country, I don't feel there is much racism in football... English football should be proud of what we've achieved."
Personally, I would say Mr. Fernandes' statements are far more objective
The sooner Terry is stripped from his England Captancy and handed a lengthy ban by the FA and FIFA the better. Hes a discrace to the English game and the English people in general. Come on FA make an example out of Terry. As for Suarez, I would be saying the same EXCEPT there is NO video evidence of Suarez even wispering such attrocities and therefore I think Evra should face the same punishment as JT.
ReplyDelete"Even Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has made
some ill-advised comments about the issue in recently. For example: in
his press conference on Friday at Anfield, Dalglish argued that racism
'was not prevalent in the game'."
You make it seem like Kenny is suggesting Racism is not prevalent in the Game of Football in general. Of course it is, however you convientiently edited "here and it certainly isn’t at this football club" from your article. Apart from the Suarez incident and the JT one last week, when was the last complaint made from any player black or white regarding racial abuse in englands top 3 divisions, because I can't remember a single stand out case.
i agree it does need addressing properly, and i know its still ongoing but how many others would realise that now the headlines and headhunting as finished due to the lack of evidence against him (suarez)??
ReplyDeleteAll i am saying is that unless they are racist nobody seems to want to know and nobody seems to have anything to say, and it seems people cant support their players of not been racist as that makes them ignorant to the racial problems in the game yet they could just be backing their players as they have the trust and belief they are not racist!
why only quote half a sentence though? its not natural linguistics to do so.
ReplyDeleteNow Coolymore renegrades on rasicm. Funny enough when these players play for Engalnd , John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole or Glen Johnson there isno issue on racism. But thingschanged at club level. Cheap politics.
ReplyDeleteBollocks article lad, can't believe I wasted my time reading the tripe. Just jumping on he bang wagon about the racism thing... I dont particularly care about Chelsea or John terry, but I doubt he said what he's being accused of, especially with the amount of black players in the Chelsea squad, if terry was being racial then yes, throw the book at him, but it he was shouting that on the pitch I doubt Anelka and malouda would or just not said anything??
ReplyDeleteThe same with man utd and evra, he's a cheeky bastard him anyway and he's tried this racist card before in France and basically he's just a cheat in the game, I hope when it's found out Suarez never said anything other than I nutmegged you, then the FA throw the book at him as well... If they can throw th book at a player that racially abuses someone the same punishment should be dished out to people who lie with intent to destroy that person they accuse..
It's funny that you say that theres racism in football?? We're? Name an incident in the last 10 years? (besides these 2) in world football?? Even at amateur football I haven't heard anything in 10 years... So again just a load of bollocks that youve spouted... People like u and the media that causes all this shit for nothing.. Fucking idiot lad that's all you are! And I'd say it to your face if I could
Racism isn't prevalent in the English game. Why is that a ridiculous statement? He is in no way trivialising it. What makes you think it is prevalent?
ReplyDeletei am a supporter i think that there is a small part of football were racism is still about but i think its only a few idiots,although there is no place for racism in football i also believe people like evra dont help stamp it out they are as bad as racists,i havnt herd stan or anyone else say that somone who has used the racism card and gets proved wrong on more than one occation what damage they are doing why i say this is i am disabled and have herd people use this in the same way.everybody may say im wrong but they cant tell me it doesnt happen.
ReplyDeletethey will not answer cos u not agreeing with them
ReplyDeleteAnton Ferdinand's own words "I didn't know racism still existed in football until last weekend" Hmmmmmmm that would suggest that Kenny is right and RACISM is not prevalent in the game.
ReplyDeleteEven if this twat DIDN'T play the 'race' card at every available opportunity, I'd still find it impossible to take him seriously. I know this site has a policy of not resorting to mindless, unintelligent abuse of people in the football community, but I feel you'd be doing us all a disservice by not allowing us to verbally lambast this deeply-flawed, woman-beating, insecure, talentless arsehole.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason he still finds employment is because luckily, the woman he chose to beat up was the loathsome Ulrika 'Leatherface' Jonsson.
By the way, I have a hangover and I hate absolutely everything to do with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
Come on mate, be nice - publish my comment.
ReplyDeleteIt's already live!
ReplyDeleteWhere is your proof to back this statement?
ReplyDelete"Even Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has made some ill-advised comments about the issue in recently. For example: in his press conference on Friday at Anfield, Dalglish argued that racism 'was not prevalent in the game'.With the greatest respect, this is an absolutely ridiculous statement to make; Dalglish is intelligent enough to know that racism is a problem in football, and it's disappointing that he basically trivialized the issue by suggesting it's not a widespread problem."Daglishs' comment was about English football and not football in general. Perhaps that is your mistake jamie... he also said he wanted the issue with Luis solved quickly no matter who was at fault.
Thanks Jaimie! Flowers and chocolates are in transit as I write this my friend.
ReplyDeleteI hate Spurs. And QPR now too. And I've started drinking again. Happy days.
God I wish Newsnow would stop carrying your shite. Everyone on here has the IQ of pond scum.
ReplyDeleteand there was a boy who cried wolf.........................
ReplyDeletei take it just general verbal abuse is okay then, whether your white black yellow or purple. people like like evra and ferdinand have massive chips on there shoulders with bad cockey attitudes, who i would say easily bring the worst out in people. wat would they of said to even make someone make a racist remark if they did obviously. makes you wonder, bigger picture and all that. im not justifying it wat so ever. wat i cant stand is when we get it mainly going abroad and you got thousands of scum in the stands doing it. thats wat needs stamping out. if suarez is found guilty then judge kenny then on wat he says about it
Can't help but notice that your surname is almost an anagram of W**ker, another pointless article, from another amateur journalist desperate for hits on newsnow! Don't you think you've milked this racism business enough already? Liverpool striker? Don't you mean ex Liverpool striker? Collymore, was an embarassment to Liverpool FC, and by quoting him continuously you are revealing your ignorance towards the club and its fanbase. I seriously doubt your allegiance to LFC, you're a poor excuse for a wind up merchant my friend as I can see through your bulls**t, I just thought I would enlighten the rest of the people who have yet to realise this. I bet you won't even post this either. As for your profile pic, I bet you resemble Danny Devito more than Arnie! Lmao!
ReplyDeleteWho are you to say the "kenny can do no wrong brigade"? When he was hired, you said to loads of people "are you questioning Kenny's judgement".
ReplyDeleteKanwar, you're a fucking liar and a coward.
i think your a united fan kanwar.you really do have summat against kenny. you not even happy we picked up 3 points yesterday, i dont even know why you write these articles coz all you come out with is a load of bollocks. now please can you block me from coming on any more of your articles because you talk shit
ReplyDeletethe guy acts like a puppet, enogh said.
ReplyDeletelets call a spade aspade villa boas and kenny are bordering on the ridiculous one to claim that theres no problem in the british game the other to defend the indefencible by tnhe way im a red
ReplyDeletethe press are having a field day , wat are the managers supposed to say?
ReplyDeleteone main thing that is missing at the moment and untill it comes out if it does is that thing called proof
i think kenny is right that there is non or very little racist in the epl but lets get real here if you want finesse and good old fashion football the white players will give you that. look at la liga or serie a mostly white and maybe a couple black players here or there, inter didn't even want banatelli in their team NO CLASS.
ReplyDeleteJust over 10 years ago, I was at Old Trafford on the day we drew 1-1 (Owen scored and was sent off).
ReplyDeleteThe main thing that comes to mind when I think of that day is the line: 'Posh Spice takes it up the arse!'
Liverpool fans sang that at David Beckham for the guts of an hour and a half and to be fair on him, he started laughing at one stage and waved at us.
Is it not fair to suggest that this is a lot more personally insulting than what seems to amount to name-calling based on race?
'Racism' is an umbrella heading that is wheeled out in these cases and basically brands the accused party for life.
It would possibly be fair to suggest that the current state of social political correctness renders the act of being labeled 'a racist' far more personally detrimental than the victim of the initial racist remark. And this, unfortunately, seems to be an issue in itself that isn't being mentioned or addressed at all.
why they bordering on the indefencible? what exactly have they done wrong? they are backing there players! fair enough AVB may not be doing it in a very good way as his player has a case to answer regardless how it was meant but dalglish has made a comment that is actually correct yet is been twisted by people to suit how they want it to sound... and what red are you? liverpool red or the "other"
ReplyDeleteIF suarez is found guilty then it would be a complete joke!!!
ReplyDeleteBut if he isnt found guilty then suarez should take evra to the cleaners and hit him with every single form of legal retaliation available to him as i am likea lot of people and really believe this accusation is just fabricated because evra had a bad day..
If it was that unimportant then why did you only quote that part of Dalglish's comment rather than quoting the entire thing?
ReplyDeletePeople who selectively cherry-pick what to quote out of what other people have said rather than give the full context always leave themselves open to scrutiny and having their credibility questioned.
You shouldn't be surprised that yours is being questioned in this case.
Besides which, Dalglish was right.
Compared to other leagues in Europe racism - while not entirely absent -is not nearly as prevalent or extremely pervasive and extreme in the English league.
When was the last time you saw a banana being thrown at a black footballer in the English Premier league.......by the fans of his own team?
This happens ALL the time in the Spanish and Italian leagues.
And that's not even talking about some of the leagues in the Baltic and former Soviet countries including Russia itself.
So yes, compared to what happens in other leagues, racism is NOT prevalent in theEPL to the degree that it happens elsewhere.
Kenny didn't say that racism doesn't exist in the British game or that it was not a problem.
ReplyDeleteYou're deliberately misquoting him.
He said it was not prevalent - which is NOT the same thing as saying it doesn't exist at all.
when was the last time you saw a banana being thrown at a black Football player in the English league?
By his own team's fans?
This is the Norm in other leagues in Europe.
So when Kenny says it's not prevalent in the British game(as opposed to saying it doesn't exist at all), try putting it in context before wholesale condemning him right after deliberately misquoting him.
I think you're violently and wildly deluded if you seriously think there's an equivalent comparison to be made between racism - with all the concomitant occurrences that come along with it and its history such as slavery, the debasement of entire races, and even the holocaust - to the verbal abuse and insulting of one's spouse - something that's been done by ALL races since the dawn of time.
ReplyDeleteYou are seriously demented if that's the comparison your think is fair to make.
That's all I'm going to say.
And then to make matters worse you're actually trying to make an argument for the racist person or someone being accused of racism as being the bigger victim than the actual victim of the actual act of racism.
Dude, seek help.
Immediately.
How many times? Your argument has no basis, and you're just focusing on the fact I used half the quote for the hell of it. The second part of the quote makes absolutely no difference to the first; it doesn't change its meaning at all, so there's no point including it.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you try being objective instead of allowing your judgment to be clouded through misguided loyalty?
Why don't you explain how leaving out the second part of the quote makes a difference. You've complained that I've only used half the quote, but you haven't explained why it matters.
I'm going to illustrate this again:
I don't think it's prevalent in the game here
When Dalglish says 'here' he is clearly and unambiguously referring to the English game. There can be no other interpretation, and if you can't see that then you're not being objective.
and certainly not at this club
Dalglish is obviously referring to the club here. arguing that racism is not prevalent at LFC. If the first part of the sentence was about LFC (i.e. if 'here' meant LFC) then he wouldn't need the second part of the sentence, would he?
My article is about racism in FOOTBALL, not at Liverpool, so there is no need for me to include the part about Liverpool.
This is ridiculously clear, yet people still insist on complaining that i didn't use the full quote. I didn't need to, and not using it makes no difference to the meaning of the first part of the quote.
If you think otherwise, then outline your thinking.
Your writing is poor and I love the way you jump down anyone's throat who comments or challenges your views... "Get a grip"??! Oh dear... Now I remember why I have avoided your nonsense website for so long. Shove your pro "Kenny can do no wrong" and Pro-Benitez! I, personally am a fan of my football club, Liverpool... You pillock!!
ReplyDeleteFelderkirk and others,
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with Duneman. There is a massive difference between nonsensical banter and racial insults. Does inane teasing deny, divide and destroy individuals, communities and countries? You even admitted yourself that Beckham was able to have a chuckle, not something a player hearing a torrent of vitriolic abuse targeting their ethnicity could ever do. Frankly for people to downplay the problem of racism in football by comparing it to childish teasing is very worrying.
Despite being a passionate fan of the national side, I actually had to stop going to England games because of the horrendous attitudes and insults encountered. Vile comments such as 'gas the jews' when we played Israel and groups of fans calling me a terrorist made me realize that despite improvements, there is still a worrying amount of xenophobic hatred displayed by some supporters. Obviously the majority of fans would not dream of behaving in this manner. However the problem most definitely still exists, and the belief that players should 'take [racist insults] like a man' severely undermines the hard work of the many individuals who support the Kick It Out campaign.
Hopefully the authorities will take this issue more seriously that a few of the posters on this site. The PFA have released this statement to address the recent allegations:
The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) has released a statement regarding two recent high-profile incidents of alleged racist abuse."We have had some serious issues arise recently between players regarding allegations of racist abuse. The PFA is and always will be committed to anti-racism initiatives which have achieved considerable success in the past few decades seeking to eradicate this problem. There is no place for such behaviour and there is and has to be support for those who feel they have encountered racial abuse."There is a proper process to be followed for such serious issues which is governed by The Football Association, as the game’s regulator. We will assist and adhere to that process in any way which is considered appropriate, mindful that all the players are our members and as such we expect the process to be fair and transparent in establishing the facts in each case."Both Suarez and Terry must be considered innocent until the investigation process has been completed. However if either player is found guilty, a severe punishment needs to be administered to help endorse a policy of zero tolerance of racist attitudes and abuse. It's important to remember the football pitch is a workplace. Yes emotions are heightened but if any of us, no matter how stressed, used the phrases that have been alleged, we would surely face heavy disciplinary action or even dismissal.
Hi Jamie,
ReplyDeleteJust picked up on this.
I think that if you'd quoted the word 'Here' originally it would have lessened the scope for ambiguity. To leave the word out indicates that what is being said is that Dalglish doesn't think that racism is prevalent in the game generally - both home and abroad. Include the word 'Here' and you limit his comment to, if not The UK, then at least to England.
In either event it's spurious and stretching semantics to argue that he's limiting his comment to LFC.
Cheers.
Jo
If as you keep insisting, that there is a problem in this country, why have you not written about it before now, insteas you have jumped on the media bandwagaon and writing about unproven cases as if they are fact. Before theese allagations when was the last time there was a racist inncident in the premiere league
ReplyDeleteWhats the matter with you Jamie, Every time you write something here it seemS you are against this Football Club may it be saying Torres is better that Suarez or Kenny supporting racism bla bla bla.
ReplyDeleteCan't you say anything positive here, I suggest you change the Name here to Manc scum, Plastic Chelsea or something like that and you will have a lot of plastic fans supporting your dumb statements here.
We are Liverpool fans first and all else is secondary and will always support the team,players,club,manager, staff no matter what.
FROM: THE KENNY CAN DO NO WRONG BRIGADE!
I have to agree. In cricket we have sledging where horrific insulting & suggestive remarks of opposition players' mothers & sisters etc takes place. It never becomes an issue. After the game they all have a beer together. Is insulting someone's skin colour any worse? Are we just too sensitive? As a white person, if someone insulted my skin colour or race, I can't imagine it would upset me too much. Maybe that's just me & I'm not seeing the bigger picture.
ReplyDeletePFA: "...there is and has to be support for those who feel they have encountered racial abuse". How about support for those who feel they have been unfairly accused of racial abuse and/or those who have been accused and found innocent. Surely they also deserve support.
ReplyDeleteDuneman and others. Rather than condoning the racist remarks as you seem to infer I was doing, I'd prefer to ask you whether you believe that John Terry or Luis Suarez would physically abuse anyone based on their ethnicity. Or if these players had something to do with the slave trade. Or the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteA lot of what I hear at football matches is seriously ugly but tends to go unpunished. I'm just asking why we're up in arms about one form of mindless abuse and not any other?
For example, the Arsene Wenger chants, the chants about gassing the Jews that you mention, anti-Irish chants, Munich, Hillsbrough. And there are far more worrying chants than that.
I aologise if I seemed insensitive in my initial missive, but Duneman - you oddly turn the 'David Beckham spouse slagging' incident into a racial issue yourself by saying that it's 'something that's been done by ALL races since the dawn of time.'
My point (I think, obviously) is that being branded a 'racist' in today's society for apparently calling someone something on a football pitch - and I stress the word 'apparently' - is arguably worse than 'apparently' being called something in the 1st place.
Being labeled 'a racist' carries with it the stigmas that you've mentioned - that you condone slavery, the holocaust, and that you'd resort to physical violence against someone not of your own race.
I'd suggest that, if Terry and Suarez ARE guilty in this situation, then stupidity and a lack of education is to blame, and that their attitude is seriously wrong and outdated.
Love the way that Stan is more than happy to smack women abou, but as soon as somebody calls him a rude name - he turns into the moral crusader??
ReplyDeleteGet a grip, you're obsessed Jamie. People will stop coming to this site (ooh I know you don't care).
ReplyDeleteFelderkirk 2 hours ago in reply to Sumon Thakur
ReplyDeleteDuneman and others. Rather than condoning the racist remarks as you seem to infer I was doing, I'd prefer to ask you whether you believe that John Terry or Luis Suarez would physically abuse anyone based on their ethnicity. Or if these players had something to do with the slave trade. Or the Holocaust.
A lot of what I hear at football matches is seriously ugly but tends to go unpunished. I'm just asking why we're up in arms about one form of mindless abuse and not any other?
For example, the Arsene Wenger chants, the chants about gassing the Jews that you mention, anti-Irish chants, Munich, Hillsbrough. And there are far more worrying chants than that.
I aologise if I seemed insensitive in my initial missive, but Duneman - you oddly turn the 'David Beckham spouse slagging' incident into a racial issue yourself by saying that it's 'something that's been done by ALL races since the dawn of time.'
My point (I think, obviously) is that being branded a 'racist' in today's society for apparently calling someone something on a football pitch - and I stress the word 'apparently' - is arguably worse than 'apparently' being called something in the 1st place.
Being labeled 'a racist' carries with it the stigmas that you've mentioned - that you condone slavery, the holocaust, and that you'd resort to physical violence against someone not of your own race.
I'd suggest that, if Terry and Suarez ARE guilty in this situation, then stupidity and a lack of education is to blame, and that their attitude is seriously wrong and outdated.
hey Felderkirk,
ReplyDeleteTo address some of your points:
I disagree that being labeled a racist carries the stigma of physical violence against someone from a different ethnicity. It is evident that people can have reprehensible views without endorsing and condoning violence. However on the whole, our society quite rightly does not tolerate high profile individuals articulating racist values in the public arena.
Although being a racist is unpalatable to many, it's not in itself a crime. The reality is that players that use racist slurs on the pitch are being punished for their actions not their opinions. Remember they are professional footballers being paid huge salaries, and with that wealth and adulation has to come the responsibility of being a role model. There is no doubt that children emulate their sporting heroes, and in no way can racial insults be excused in such public forum. In response to your comment that 'the act of being labeled 'a racist' far more personally detrimental than the victim of the initial racist remark.'
Obviously people need to remember that individuals are innocent until proven guilty. However surely it is to be expected that the person who has chosen to use racist language should have to suffer the consequence for their action. After all the victim is innocent of wrong doing, the perpetrator clearly isn't. However if the accused is exculpated then its important that the media publicises their vindication with the same zeal that they reported the case. Furthermore if a player has been found to make deliberately false allegations then the sanctions need to be severe.I totally agree with your last paragraph.
Hi Sumon
ReplyDeleteI think that you and I are essentially singing from the same hymn-sheet on this but we're probably differing in our estimations of the proportionate attention that the crime of alleged racist remarks gets when compared across the different ethnicities.
However, I feel that being branded a racist DOES carry with it a stigma that follows an individual around for life - an example being Ron Atkinson's ridiculously naive comments during a live football match compared to, say, Andy Gray's ridiculously naive comments during a football match.
Atkinson was a fairly well-respected pundit at the time but he's done very little since, whereas Grey has a cushy little number on Talksport. And before you chastise me for condoning Atkinson's seriously ugly on-air comment, I'm not. I'm using it as an example of how an idiotic racist remark can ruin an individual and shows up their lack of intelligence.
So it should be definitively proven that Suarez and Terry are guilty of this crime before the likes of Collymore get involved with their at times sensationalist and biased opinions on something so sensitive and potentially destructive.
Although, saying that, I think Collymore's comments are more aimed at racism at large rather than these individual situations. I hope so anyway.
hey Felderkirk,
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree with that point. The concerted (and considerably) successful campaign to remove the horrific levels of racism that existed in the game during the 70's/80's was always going to result in strong and justified condemnation of his comments in the immediate aftermath. However Atkinson's career should not be totally overshadowed by one moment of - admittedly horrific - idiocy; an isolated incident for which he has since been genuinely contrite. Unfortunately given the deluge of ex players and managers seeking a move into punditry, his days were always going to be numbered in this highly competitive field.
Hahahahahahahaha Collymore who battered a woman in a public winebar and who stalks car parks trying to watch people having sex saying the manager of Chelsea has acted disgracefully!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha and another hahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Bizarre also how you yet again manipulate a non article by the most disgraceful human being ever to pull on a pair of boots in England to attack Kenny.
ReplyDeleteIf trawling the internet in desperation. Sad stuff all round.
Where do you live, Mumbai? Delhi? Dudley? Malta? You havent been to a game in your life. Thank God for the internet.
Long runs the fox.