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Were Blatter's comments on racism a 'hanging' offence?
33 Answers
http://blogs.independ...ld-stay-on-the-pitch/
Credit where it is due, this chap is talking a whole lot of sense, agree or not?
/// Because if a private conversation, out of earshot of others, becomes subject to rules and regulation, everyone has to be on their guard at all times. It means footballers should consider themselves perpetually under police caution. What you say to an opponent may be taken down and used in evidence against
you. ///
/// Racist slurs, they would argue, are different. They cross the line. The problem is that once you outlaw one type of insult it is difficult to know where to draw the line. Do you treat gay slurs in the same way? What about blasphemy? The Brits might be relaxed about religious profanities but devout Muslims or Christians might be deeply offended. Should we tolerate sexual slurs about a player’s wife? What provoked Zinedine Zidane to headbutt Marco Materazzi was a sexual jibe about the Frenchman’s sister. ///
Credit where it is due, this chap is talking a whole lot of sense, agree or not?
/// Because if a private conversation, out of earshot of others, becomes subject to rules and regulation, everyone has to be on their guard at all times. It means footballers should consider themselves perpetually under police caution. What you say to an opponent may be taken down and used in evidence against
you. ///
/// Racist slurs, they would argue, are different. They cross the line. The problem is that once you outlaw one type of insult it is difficult to know where to draw the line. Do you treat gay slurs in the same way? What about blasphemy? The Brits might be relaxed about religious profanities but devout Muslims or Christians might be deeply offended. Should we tolerate sexual slurs about a player’s wife? What provoked Zinedine Zidane to headbutt Marco Materazzi was a sexual jibe about the Frenchman’s sister. ///
Answers
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It has got a bit outhhand. Reminds you of the child in the playground where a bully calls him names. The reaction of the authorities (headmaster,teacher, etc) is to suggest he ignore the comments or give a verbal sarcastic reply. Coloured players now sometimes outnumber the white ones so you hardly say they are being picked on.
The FA's Rules of Football are very clear and every match official should know them.
Racist abuse from one player to another is a straight Red - sent off the pitch.
As Rio Ferdinand commented: 'so if a player abuses a Ref, as long as he shakes hands at the end of the match that's ok is it? Slate wiped clean?
Clearly not - Blatter is a buffoon and an embarassment to the sport.
Racist abuse from one player to another is a straight Red - sent off the pitch.
As Rio Ferdinand commented: 'so if a player abuses a Ref, as long as he shakes hands at the end of the match that's ok is it? Slate wiped clean?
Clearly not - Blatter is a buffoon and an embarassment to the sport.
Not a hanging offence but a gift to those who have been looking for a way to ease him from office. A statement made in public, no secret recordings or second-hand reportage showing his lack of judgement.
The main problems would seem to be his absolute lack of shame and a desire to defend the indefensible.
The main problems would seem to be his absolute lack of shame and a desire to defend the indefensible.
So if a person is racially abused at work, if it's "private" and no one else hears then the matter should be dropped? Hmm..
I'd be interested in AOG's comments on this part of the article, however, to which the rest has been building:
"We seem to have lost sight of the broader social and political roots of racism – employer discrimination, segregated housing, police harassment, racist immigration laws. Instead of addressing unequal treatment we’ve become fixated with the symptoms, namely racist language. I’m not saying that we should ignore racial abuse. We should challenge it relentlessly. But this doesn’t mean racism should become a thought crime. Racist beliefs and ideas should be defeated through political argument, not censorship."
I disagree that the issues Blatter is being accused of trivialising are "thought crime", but I do think Mr Allirajah has a point above. In other words: right argument, wrong example.
I'd be interested in AOG's comments on this part of the article, however, to which the rest has been building:
"We seem to have lost sight of the broader social and political roots of racism – employer discrimination, segregated housing, police harassment, racist immigration laws. Instead of addressing unequal treatment we’ve become fixated with the symptoms, namely racist language. I’m not saying that we should ignore racial abuse. We should challenge it relentlessly. But this doesn’t mean racism should become a thought crime. Racist beliefs and ideas should be defeated through political argument, not censorship."
I disagree that the issues Blatter is being accused of trivialising are "thought crime", but I do think Mr Allirajah has a point above. In other words: right argument, wrong example.
ichkeria
Some very valid points there, and I completely agree that you cannot police thoughts, but in this instance, it's not thoughts that are the issue - but language. I suppose the argument is that if you do not chastise racism/homophobic remarks on the pitch, then that sends a signal to the supporters.
Can you imagine how uncomfortable you'd feel if you attended a match with (say) a black friend and were surrounded by supporters shouting monkey noises or throwing bananas on the pitch every time a black player touched the ball?
These things don't happen any more because basically, it's become socially unacceptable - but it was through aggressive campaigns against racism that these changes came about.
This is guesswork on my part - never been to a football match in my life and doubt I ever will.
Some very valid points there, and I completely agree that you cannot police thoughts, but in this instance, it's not thoughts that are the issue - but language. I suppose the argument is that if you do not chastise racism/homophobic remarks on the pitch, then that sends a signal to the supporters.
Can you imagine how uncomfortable you'd feel if you attended a match with (say) a black friend and were surrounded by supporters shouting monkey noises or throwing bananas on the pitch every time a black player touched the ball?
These things don't happen any more because basically, it's become socially unacceptable - but it was through aggressive campaigns against racism that these changes came about.
This is guesswork on my part - never been to a football match in my life and doubt I ever will.
Messi - Poyet wasn't trying to defend racism, he was saying that what was considered unacceptable here may not necessarily be considered unacceptable in Uruguay. It's about accepting different cultural viewpoints.
I'm a Liverpool fan and I think, from what I've heard Suarez has said, he should be banned, absolutely. What I think Poyet is trying to say is that this doesn't make Suarez a racist person. As someone said last week, along the lines of, saying something racist doesn't make a person a racist and a racist doesn't have to make a racist comment.
He's not defended what Suarez has said, he's defended Suarez' character.
I'm a Liverpool fan and I think, from what I've heard Suarez has said, he should be banned, absolutely. What I think Poyet is trying to say is that this doesn't make Suarez a racist person. As someone said last week, along the lines of, saying something racist doesn't make a person a racist and a racist doesn't have to make a racist comment.
He's not defended what Suarez has said, he's defended Suarez' character.
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quite a lot trigg...
“Luis Suárez is 100 per cent not a racist,” Poyet told TalkSPORT. “We can accuse people and make Suárez look like a racist, but he’s not.
“I know Luis very well and I will go to court if someone wants to prove he’s not racist.
“We live in Uruguay with plenty of people who have different colour skin. We all live together and play football together. I’ve been room-mates with people of different colour and we have no problems at all.
“I can assure you and everyone Luis is not a racist. We use different words and it is a different kind of situation. What hurts me the most is that you accuse someone. Luis Suárez has been accused of being a racist.
“You cannot accuse people without a proper investigation, especially when it’s a foreigner who is coming from a different place where we treat people of colour in a different way. So it was very easy to accuse someone.”
Poyet revealed that he has been on the receiving end of racist abuse in the past but did not report the incidents – and he criticised Manchester United left-back Evra for “crying like a baby” after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with the Red Devils at Anfield.
“I believe Luis Suárez, it’s simple,” Poyet said. “I played football for seven years in Spain and was called everything because I was from South America, and I never went out crying like a baby, like Patrice Evra, saying that someone had said something to me.”
And the former Uruguay international also believes English football needs to be more understanding of foreign players who arrive in the Premier League.
“England should adapt to the foreigners that come here and England needs to understand how the rest of the world lives,” he added. “If we have that understanding, easy.
“If you try to go to a point that doesn’t exist in the rest of the world, it’s going to be complicated.
“You think the rest of the world is wrong and you are right. Maybe it looks like you want the whole world to drive on the right hand side. Do you want that? So you need to adapt as well.”
“Luis Suárez is 100 per cent not a racist,” Poyet told TalkSPORT. “We can accuse people and make Suárez look like a racist, but he’s not.
“I know Luis very well and I will go to court if someone wants to prove he’s not racist.
“We live in Uruguay with plenty of people who have different colour skin. We all live together and play football together. I’ve been room-mates with people of different colour and we have no problems at all.
“I can assure you and everyone Luis is not a racist. We use different words and it is a different kind of situation. What hurts me the most is that you accuse someone. Luis Suárez has been accused of being a racist.
“You cannot accuse people without a proper investigation, especially when it’s a foreigner who is coming from a different place where we treat people of colour in a different way. So it was very easy to accuse someone.”
Poyet revealed that he has been on the receiving end of racist abuse in the past but did not report the incidents – and he criticised Manchester United left-back Evra for “crying like a baby” after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with the Red Devils at Anfield.
“I believe Luis Suárez, it’s simple,” Poyet said. “I played football for seven years in Spain and was called everything because I was from South America, and I never went out crying like a baby, like Patrice Evra, saying that someone had said something to me.”
And the former Uruguay international also believes English football needs to be more understanding of foreign players who arrive in the Premier League.
“England should adapt to the foreigners that come here and England needs to understand how the rest of the world lives,” he added. “If we have that understanding, easy.
“If you try to go to a point that doesn’t exist in the rest of the world, it’s going to be complicated.
“You think the rest of the world is wrong and you are right. Maybe it looks like you want the whole world to drive on the right hand side. Do you want that? So you need to adapt as well.”
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