It’s high time Sepp Blatter’s gang recognised football’s racist underbelly
|
Version 0 of 1. Fears that Italian football might be losing its racist identity have been allayed by the intervention of the former Azzurri coach Arrigo Sacchi, who makes an important intervention on the changing face of football in his country. “I’m certainly not racist,” he began promisingly. “But look at the Viareggio [youth] tournament – I would say that there are too many black players. Italy has no dignity, no pride.” Invited to clarify later, Sacchi explained he had been misquoted – and hey, which racist hasn’t been? “I just said I saw a team who fielded four coloured boys – I just wanted to point out that we are losing our national pride and identity,” he added. Mmm. Everyone’s a little bit racist, as the FBI director reminded us in a speech last week, with the exception of myriad folk in the upper reaches of football here and overseas, who are not racist. End of. It’s like Chris Finch in The Office says: “How can I hate women? My mum’s one.” Same with football bigwigs accused of racism: how can any of these people be racist? They’ve bought black players. Literally got their chequebooks out for them. Related: Arrigo Sacchi and Italian football's ethical dilemma about foreign players If you owned a black player – or had owned one in the past – you ought to be automatically insulated from the preposterous idea that you might hold prejudiced attitudes. Especially if you let one play football for you. You would certainly be entitled to join the exalted club of football people who are not racists, but have occasionally been required to state this fact, much to their own exasperation. People like Wigan manager Malky Mackay, who isn’t racist, despite calling a Malaysian person a “chink” and whatnot. Then there are people like his current boss Dave Whelan, who explained that “Jewish people chase money more than anybody else” in the course of backing Mackay on the whole “chink” thing – or “chingalings”, as Dave prefers. Then there’s Emre Belozoglu, who escaped FA punishment for racism a few times during his stint in the Premier League, but had a bit of bother with comments directed at Didier Zokora a couple of years back, and who isn’t a racist because “there’s no place for racism in Turkish culture – it’s a sin”. “If there’s the slightest feeling of racism inside me,” Emre went on, “may Allah rip my heart out.” He gave him a two-and-a-half month suspended sentence instead, the old softy. And then, arguably, there are people like Paolo DiCanio – although as Paolo himself has explained: “I’m a fascist, not a racist.” Another misquote there, apparently – and you can only imagine the scope for colossal misunderstanding those few words must have offered. Presiding over it all, of course, there is Sepp Blatter, who famously explained that “there is no racism” in football. In light of the repulsive behaviour of some Chelsea fans on the Paris Métro on Tuesday night, he appears to have modified that position to “there is no place for racism in football!” But he has directed far more ire at another strand of racism he has identified: that of the British media who have investigated corruption allegations against Qatar’s successful 2022 World Cup bid. As discussed in this space before, the Swiss is moving ineluctably to the point where criticism of Fifa is itself a form of racism. Finally, no merely surface-scratching round-up of football’s non-racists would be complete without the inclusion of Ron Atkinson, who was of course caught opining that Marcel Desailly “is what is known in some schools as a fucking lazy, thick nigger”. His Ronship later was given the opportunity of starring in a BBC documentary entitled “Big Ron: Am I A Racist?” an inquiry to which the only possible response was surely: well of course you fucking are. And yet, as each new racism/misquotation row reaches its unsatisfactory conclusion, you can’t help feeling that there is a sense among some people in the upper reaches of football that unless it involves a white hood and a burning cross, it isn’t racism. We are frequently encouraged to accept, ruefully, that it’s “a generational thing” – which always feels like something of a generalisational thing, given the variable ages of the offenders, and the number of enlightened pensioners who probably don’t care to be lumped in with the likes of Whelan. Incidentally, someone else who isn’t a racist is the current Italian FA president Carlo Tavecchio, who just last October was banned from attending Uefa jollies for comments made during his actual election campaign, in which he described African players as “banana eaters”. A bit of a storm in an espresso cup, I expect - but quite insufficient to see him lose the election. The former Juventus and Nigeria midfielder Sunday Oliseh has observed: “To have someone elected who would make such a comment sends a message: we don’t care.” However, we, or rather Tavecchio, has been instructed to give the impression of caring. I note that the terms of his Uefa censure include his being mandated to “organise a special event in Italy aimed at increasing awareness against racism”. Given the ongoing misunderstandings about racism in the game in his homeland, this country, and elsewhere, would this not seem like the perfect opportunity for addressing an issue which still seems to tie so many top football chaps in knots? How about an international conference for football bigwigs, held in Italy, to establish what racism in football is? Or, even better, what Not Racism in football is? |