Racism - by the Daily Mail.

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Written by Steve Doughty. Published by Daily Mail.

A few years ago I made the mistake of taking a fashionable guide book along on a trip to Spain. Aside from lecturing me on what an injustice it is that Gibraltar remains British, it was scathing about the iniquities of bullfighting. The real spirit of Spain, the true family sport, the guidebook said, was football.So it was interesting shortly afterwards to watch those family-minded Spanish football fans treating black England players to savage racial abuse during a friendly match in Madrid, complete with monkey chants of the crudest kind.

Around the same time, Spain’s national football manager referred to black French player Thierry Henry in vicious terms during a training session, and was as a result subjected to a very minor fine.

Just to show that less than liberal views are not confined to Spain’s football crowds, its motor sport fans blacked up specially to goad British driver Lewis Hamilton at a Formula One race. Apologists explained that in Spain when they make fun of the colour of your skin, it’s not racism, dear me no.

When we read about British footballers levelling complaints of racism against each other, it’s worth making the comparison with what passes as everyday behaviour in a nearby country we are often invited to admire.

It may or may not be that the charges laid by Manchester United’s Patrice Evra against Liverpool’s Luis Suarez are well founded. The same goes for the allegations by Anton Ferdinand of QPR against John Terry of Chelsea – although given Terry’s general level of conduct racial abuse of an opponent would be pretty ordinary stuff.

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But the horrid and open abuse of the past is gone. When crowds pick on black players these days it is the exception, and the fact is quickly reported and condemned. Any player who resorts to racial slurs against an opponent or a team-mate risks exposure and humiliation. Every club seems to be promoting a kick racism out of football campaign, beyond the point of boredom.
This is not to deny that it has been a long hard road for black footballers. When I was a child it was a commonplace that black players were talented but lightweight, so sports writers would say the Brazil team of the 1960s were great because they had creative black forwards and steady, dependable, white defenders.

Black players in England had to work against the assumption that they would crack swiftly under pressure, a view that helped them get a particularly rough reception from opposing teams.

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Breakthrough: Viv Anderson became the first black footballer to play for England in modern times

When the breakthrough came in the 1970s, and Viv Anderson became the first black footballer to play for England in modern times, the week-in week-out taunting of black players continued. I was a regular at Stoke City watching an able young winger called Garth Crooks, and you would not want to put up with the kind of thing he endured on a regular basis.

Things have changed, and they have changed with the switch of mood at big-time football grounds which means you are now more likely to be assaulted at your local cinema multiplex than at a Premier League match.

I took my elderly mother to watch a game at Highbury for the last time before they knocked it down. We took our seats in the East Stand to the sound of typical North London football fan conversation around us: ‘Where’s Lucy today?’ ‘Oh, she couldn’t make it this time, she had to marinate the lamb in rosemary.’

In the second half Arsenal sent on an African forward called Kanu. Kanu could either be brilliant or spend all afternoon falling over the ball. On this occasion he kept falling over the ball. A youngish bloke sitting in front of us lost his temper after one particularly ludicrous pratfall and yelled, at the top of his voice, something about ‘you black b*****d’.

There was a terrible silence.

The bloke leaped up and wheeled round 180 degrees in the same movement, shoved his face straight in front of my mother’s, and said in firm and formal tones: ‘I’m terribly sorry about the racist comment.’

You could not imagine such a thing happening at a football match 30 years ago. Football reflects us all as it always did, and these days it’s both racist and not racist at the same time. Things may not be perfect but, at the end of the day, Gary, there are worse things to complain about.

So, Mr Evra and Mr Ferdinand, I know you feel insulted. But perhaps in this case you could just put up with it and get on with the game.

Please, please, please tell me this guy is joking.
 
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Its the daily mail. If they had their way we'd still see bananas being chucked on the pitch
 
Its the daily mail. If they had their way we'd still see bananas being chucked on the pitch

That final sentence has actually got me shocked. How he's been allowed to print that is beyond belief. It's disgusting.
 
I've just read that 3 times, just to see if there was a point that was trying to be made.....but the only point I can see that is being made, is that it's perfectly fine to be a ignorant, biggoted, racist ****. Sums up everything I thought about the Mail. Racist arseholes.
 
"So, Mr Evra and Mr Ferdinand, I know you feel insulted. But perhaps in this case you could just put up with it and get on with the game."


Shocked... Utterly shocked.
 
Did I just misread this or did he say people who were victims of racism should just get on with it!
 
I can't see any point to this extract, whatsoever, except maybe 'HI, I'M RACIST AND PROUD'. What an utter pratt!
 
What's next, sending them to the cotton fields of Alabama?

Seriously, what the ****, we're in the 21st century, for ****'s sake.
 
What's next, sending them to the cotton fields of Alabama?

Seriously, what the ****, we're in the 21st century, for ****'s sake.

I'd hedge my bets if there was a political party like the KKK in this country they'd be secretly supporting. O yeah I forgot. We have the BNP don't we-well I'm sure the BNP can count on their vote can't they in the next election
 
The only point I'm seeing is he's saying that victims of racists should just get on with it because 30 years ago, nobody would apologize for being racist.....

What an idiot.
 
Disgraceful that not only is this his honest opinion but that they have allowed him to say it publicly.

And lets be honest no-one is going to do anything about it, so he's going to get away with it and so are the Daily Mail.
 
So if this "journalist" is walking down the street and gets battered, should he just get on with it and not do anything?
 
To be fair, throughout the article he indicates how far the racism campaign has come, and it has been very successful. Obviously the last sentence is shocking, however 30 years ago a racist comment on the field of play would not have even found its way to the FA. He makes a good point about Spain being a bit backward when it comes to the colour of your skin, and I'm sure Mario Balotelli would be slightly more normal if he lived and grew up in England and not Italy. It shows how far our country has come, I'm pretty sure we're one of the least racist in Europe which is a credit to the people. There are plenty of multicultural societies now, and racism in football is certainly rare now in England. The concluding sentence is shocking however if Evra or Ferdinand played in Italy, Spain or Russia (which, when it comes to racism is on a different level) the reality is that they would certainly have to 'put up with it' week in week out. The rest of Europe need a kick up the backside when it comes to racism imo, but it is a disgrace to ask Evra or Ferdinand to 'put up with it' in a country which has moved on since the 1970's. And yeah, t'is the Daily Mail, it's the sort of **** they produce on a regular basis.
 
To be fair, throughout the article he indicates how far the racism campaign has come, and it has been very successful. Obviously the last sentence is shocking, however 30 years ago a racist comment on the field of play would not have even found its way to the FA. He makes a good point about Spain being a bit backward when it comes to the colour of your skin, and I'm sure Mario Balotelli would be slightly more normal if he lived and grew up in England and not Italy. It shows how far our country has come, I'm pretty sure we're one of the least racist in Europe which is a credit to the people. There are plenty of multicultural societies now, and racism in football is certainly rare now in England. The concluding sentence is shocking however if Evra or Ferdinand played in Italy, Spain or Russia (which, when it comes to racism is on a different level) the reality is that they would certainly have to 'put up with it' week in week out. The rest of Europe need a kick up the backside when it comes to racism imo, but it is a disgrace to ask Evra or Ferdinand to 'put up with it' in a country which has moved on since the 1970's. And yeah, t'is the Daily Mail, it's the sort of **** they produce on a regular basis.

he basically turns it into an apologist piece. Just because everyone else is behind doesnt mean we should stop, for all the many flaws in our game, i'm glad we stand ahead on this
 
Daily Mail. I have to buy as many papers as I can to get a cross-section of views for Uni. Even so, I am *literally* using the Mail I bought on Sunday for toilet paper at the 'mo.
 
Did I just read it right: "So, Mr Evra and Mr Ferdinand, I know you feel insulted. But perhaps in this case you could just put up with it and get on with the game."?

That is one of the most ignorant and stupid articles I have read. If he was black or whatever, I bet he wouldn't be saying this and telling them to man up. There are many groups, such as the Kick It Out group, who will be angered by this. Racist is part of the world as much as technology, but does that mean we shouldn't try - at least try - to stop it? Disgraceful. That said, if the allegations from Patrice Evra and Anton Ferdinand are, although it is unlikely, fake and are used to get attention then they should feel ashamed. I don't think that's the case though. I guess maybe they should try and take it on the chin a bit, instead of getting public with it all, as many normal people can take it. However, I guess they have the right to complain and this article is just disgraceful and the author should be taken to court or at least fined for this. I just hope that none of these black players go to Russia, and I think it will be a lot worse there. But as I said, and I will say it again to emphasize the point, this is disgraceful and almost inhumane. And to think it is from a 'respected' newspaper (not saying people like it, but it does sell quite well).
 
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