When Is Football Going To Emerge From The Dark Ages?

[ToraToraTora]

https://news.sky.com/story/real-madrid-star-vinicius-junior-says-spains-la-liga-belongs-to-the-racists-after-pointing-out-abusers-during-match-12886586
...Other sports seem to manage it.

[Ken4155]

Racism has been a problem in Spanish football for as long as i can remember, TTT. Every so often, the Spanish FA make 'noises' about combatting it, but nothing seems to have had much effect.
I don't know whether this is a reflection of Spanish culture, or just Spanish football in general.
Despite all the English and Scottish FA are doing, there are still some 'diehard' racists attending our football grounds.

[Ken4155]

A couple of apt quotes from an article on the subject of racism in football;

"The parameters keep shifting, yet the racism continues. Until there are actual punishments which force clubs and football associations to effectively police their own fans and players, this problem will continue."

"Football can't defeat racism in much the same way it can't end world hunger. Football is an arena where racism is displayed, not where it is cultivated or learned. That's what makes the lack of action across the board so galling."

[ToraToraTora]

The Dutch had a problem a few years ago, not sure if it went away but they did have a plan.....

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/nov/21/dutch-clubs-stand-still-protest-racism-football

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/22/dutch-football-captains-lead-boycott-tv-show-racist-remarks-virgil-van-dijk-sari-van-veenendaal-

[andy-hughes]

Racism is not confined to football, it is a society problem.

Like all anti-social attitudes, it will be stopped in the classroom, not on the terraces.

When teachers are given the time and resources to include tolerance and personal responsibility in education, attitudes like racism can be addressed.

It's no use trying to blame football or its culture, attitudes like racism are formed long before anyone sets foot in a football ground.

[ToraToraTora]

It's rare in other sports Andy.

[andy-hughes]

But it's not a 'sport' issue, it's a social problem.

Football is tribal, and tribalism thrives on belonging to one tribe, and gating lots of others.

That's the very definition of racism.

[david small]

Racism is engendered in our ancestral history. A them and us distorted to a them against us. Tribal and primitive, but was useful as a survival technique. Hopefully man will eventually shed this ridiculous heritage and realise that the colour of the skin is irrelevant, it’s the character of the person that really matters.
Cultural differences, religious practices, political aspirations are the bugbears that slow down our understanding and our tolerance of others. Fear of the unknown also has a detrimental impact.

[naomi24]

It is a culture and it’s a horrible one. My teachers didn’t need extra time and resources to instil decent standards into me and neither did my parents. They just did it because it’s the right thing to do.

[andy-hughes]

It's nice to pretend that everything is as it was in the days when all parents and all teachers instilled values into children who absorbed them.

The problem is, it was a fiction then, and it's a fiction now.

[douglas9401]

Uh-oh.

[bobbinwales]

//When teachers are given the time and resources to include tolerance and personal responsibility in education, attitudes like racism can be addressed.//
So its up to teachers is it,, more than the job of parents and family, Really? Teachers are expected to teach the curriculum aswell as cover LGBT+ issues, mental health , bullying, misogeny, racial tolerance, British values, sex education, religious issues, extremism, sexual consent issues, financial skills.... maybe parents have roll too

[douglas9401]

You know what? It'll be fine.

[andy-hughes]

Bob - The classic answer that asks what the poster didn't say, starts with 'So ...'.

It's not the responsibility of teachers to teach moral values to children, except in instances where parents are unable, or unwilling, to undertake that responsibility themselves.

Because the current curriculum is far too overloaded, there isn't time for teachers to reinforce / teach responsibility, delete as appropriate, and that is the fault and responsibility of successive governments who fail to provide a curriculum that is fit for purpose, or the resources and support for teachers to deliver it properly.

[naomi24]

Nonsense, AH. It’s always someone else’s fault.

ps. You left discipline off the list.

[david small]

Typically naomi stands her ground. Also typically, she is right.

[andy-hughes]

People who happen to share the same view are always 'right'.

[1ozzy]

Of course they are Andy, just ask them.

[Zacs-Master]

Football is, by its very nature, tribal. Racism is a ‘natural’ extension of this. It will never be stamped out, as being a fan/supporter relies on a partisan attitude.

[andy-hughes]

Zacs - I think the tribalism of football encourages racism, but they are not absolutely connected.

You can feel animosity towards someone for supporting another team,which is a conscious decision from both parties.

But you cannot feel animosity towards someone because their skill is a different colour, that is not a conscious decision by either party.

That's the difference between tribalism and racism.

[andy-hughes]

For 'skill', please read 'skin'.