Racism Issues in Football - Essay Example

Racism In Football: How Black Players Are Marginalized Because of Their Appearance And Their Ethni Racism is an issue that pervades in the football fields around the world. Football players, officials and fans alike have been victims of racism because of the color of their skin, their nationality, heritage, ethnicity and even religion. In last few years, some groups of people are like the blacks have been the target of more intense scrutiny as compared to other groups. Despite the efforts of the football associations to eradicate racism in this sport, blacks are still subject to more harsh treatments as compared to their counterparts. Most incidents of racism occur during the height of the game. All across Europe, incidents of racism especially among blacks is common. Highly charged people often chant racist remarks that irk the crown and cause a lot of disturbance during the game. One of the latest famous incidents of racism in football involving black players happened in April 2009 to a Football Club Internazionale Milano SpA player Mario Balotelli, a black Italian football player. The fans of the opposing team, the Juventus Football Club S.p.A., allegedly made abusive racial remarks against Balotelli during the match (www.rueters.com, 19 April 2009). To settle the incident amicably, the officials of the game agreed to grant the Internazionale was one game home fan ban (www.bbc.co.uk, 20 April 2009). Although this incident was settled swiftly, we cannot really say that this is the end of racial abuse at the football field. History tells us that racial abuse in the football field has been around for many years. Year after year, controversies involving black players play center stage in some major matches. For instance, in March 2008, black players of the French side including Andrei Ayew, Charles Kabore and Ronald Zubar were the target of racist chants from the fans of Zenit Saint Petersburg (Joachim Barbier, 13 March 2008). The good thing about this incident is that the police intervened and warned the crowd against making antagonistic comments against the players (Joachim Barbier, 13 March 2008). The timely intervention of the police prevented any untoward incidents in this case. Racism involving Zenit Saint Petersburg happens often. According to the coach of Zenit, Dich Advocaat, their club’s supporters have biases against black people and one fan even asked if Mathiue Valbuena is a “negro” (www. bb.co.uk, 12 May 2008). Clearly, some people are not comfortable with the idea of having a black man play under their favorite team and that it itself is an indication that racism is very much alive among sports fanatics. According to Serge Branco who is a black player from the Republic of Cameroon, he hears racist insults against black payers each time he plays in St. Petersburg and that during most these incidents, the people who are running the club did do anything to stop the crowd from making such racist comments (Will Stewart, 3 May 2008). Incidents like this make people wonder if some of the well known football clubs are racist too. Branco pointed out that the fact that the management of the club did not do anything to stop the people from making comments against him because he is black made him suspect that the club management itself have bias against the color of his skin (Will Stewart, 3 May 2008). Many black football players suffered personal insults due to the color of their skin. Samuel Eto’o who is originally from the Republic of Cameroon in Africa has suffered more than his share of racism in the football field. When he played for the Spanish La Liga Club FC Barcelona in 2005, he suffered from racial taunts from some Real Zaragoza spectators. During this match for the FC Barcelona, Eto’o has to contend with monkey chants from the audience every time he gets the ball. Some people even throw peanuts onto the pitch to taunt him. Good thing that Eto’o has a sense of humor so when his team won the match, he danced like a monkey on the field. During an interview, he said that he danced like a monkey on the field because the fans of the opposing team treated him like a monkey (Kelso, Paul; Giles Tremlett , 19 November 2004). In a separate interview, Eto’o commented that he does not like to take his children to football matches because of the racial slurs that people often make during these matches (www.bbc.co.uk, 4 April 2007). This really sad considering how much his children would love to see their father play football. To fight off racial discrimination during football matches, Eto’o suggested that players who feel that they have been discriminated against by fans should walk out from the game (www.bbc.co.uk, 7 May 2007). Of course this suggestion is easier said than done. Players who want their teams to win would certainly want to hang around and continue playing despite taunting for the crowds. Another black player who is often a subject of racist comments during football a match is Ghana-born German Gerald Asamoah. The most recent racist attack against Asamoah came from the Borussia Dorthmund goalkeeper Roman Weiderfeller. During a football match, Weidenfeller allegedly called Asamoah a “black pig”(www.bbc.co.uk, 19 August 2007). In a friendly football match at Hansa Rostack club in 2006, Asamoah also suffered from verbal abuse due to the color of his skin. The Hansa Rostack Club was later on slapped with a fine of $25,000.00 for making racist comments against Asamoah (www.bbc.co.uk, 14 September 2006). Another incident of racism involving a football club and its fans happened sometime in March 2008. Fans of the Serbian football club, the Fudbalski klub Borac Čačak, attacked Solomom Opoku, a player from Ghana. Six of the attackers were later on arrested and four of them faced charges (www.bbc.co.uk, 10 March 2008). Despite the fact that people were charged during the incident, we cannot really be sure that such kind of incidents will not happen to another black player in the future. When people become highly emotionally charged during a football match, they do something that often disrupts the peace. The attack on Solomon Opoku is a clear example of how people can become violent during and after a highly heated football game. Like many football club matches around Europe, friendly matches between countries have not escaped the scandals of racism. A notable incident of racism against black players happened on March 24, 2007 during a friendly football match between France and Lithuania. Lithuanian fans and supports unfurled a banner which taunted the black players of the French team (Football Against Racism in Europe, 30 March 2007). Painted on the banner is a map of Africa with the French flags stamped over it. A slogan that says “Welcome to Europe” was also written on the banner. Many people see this act as offensive and a direct insult against the black players. The many incidents of racism against black football players go on and on. Despite efforts on the part of football officials to eradicate racism during football matches, racial abuses are still difficult to stop. We have to understand that fans and players tend to become emotional during high charged games and in the heat of the moment, some people may cross the boundaries of decency and say things that are offensive. To stop racial discrimination against black players, there is a need to educate people more about equality. Until such time when people others as their equal no matter what the color of his skin is, racial abuse will continue to occur in the football field. Bibliography 1. Asamoah In Racist Abuse Claim. BBC Sport. 2007-08-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/6954005.stm. Accessed 17 July 2009.   2. Eto’o Keeps Kids From Racist Fans. BBC. 2007-04-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/6525401.stm. Accessed 17 July 2009.  3. Eto’o Seeks Racism Walk-off. BBC. 2007-05-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/6262526.stm. Accessed 17 July 2009.  4. Ghanaian Injured In Racist Attack. BBC. 2008-03-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7287445.stm. Accessed 17 July 2009.  5. Joachim Barbier (2008-03-13). Marseille To Decide Complaint. BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7294360.stm. Accessed 17 July 2009.  6. Juve President slams Own Fans for racist chants. Reuters. 2009-04-19. http://football.uk.reuters.com/seriea/news/LJ467490.php. Accessed 17 July 2009.  7. Juve Punished Over Racial Abuse. BBC. 2009-04-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8008928.stm. Accessed 17 July 2009.   8. Kelso, Paul; Giles Tremlett (2004-11-19). Spanish Apologize for Soccer Racism. The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2004/nov/19/football.spain. Accessed 17 July 2009.  9. Racism Warning For Zenit Support. BBC. 2008-05-12 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7397379.stm. Accessed 17 July 2009.  10. Racist Banner Exhibited At Lithuania-France Euro 2008 Qualifier. Football Against Racism in Europe. 2007-03-30. http://www.farenet.org/default.asp?intPageID=7&intArticleID=1290. Accessed 17 July 2009.  11. Rostock Fined For Asamoah Abuse. BBC Sport. 2006-09-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/5345382.stm. Accessed 17 July 2009.  12. Will Stewart (2008-05-03). Zenit Fans Are Racist, Admits Dick Advocaat. Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2299242/Zenit-fans-are-racist-admits-Dick-Advocaat.html. Accessed 17 July 2009.   Read More