WE MUST TAKE A STAND AGAINST RACISM – AGAIN!
ON Monday we saw the ugly face of racism in Bulgaria. I loved the England team’s reaction to the monkey chants. Firstly, they followed the ridiculous protocols that UEFA and FIFA have laid out: they are useless.
This week, they fined Lazio a pitiful 20,000 Euros for racial abuse during the Rennes game, but the only effective way to stop this behaviour is by chucking teams out of competitions. Fans would soon be policing their own crowds to make sure it didn’t happen again. Or if not, who needs them?
Not only did
England show that they would leave the pitch if it continued, but also they stuck six unanswered goals past them!
I loathe racists. It is 2019 for flip’s sake. I remember going to Rock Against Racism gigs in the late 70s. It felt that the tide was turning against the neanderthal behaviour I witnessed at football matches, and on the streets, in that decade. I was lucky enough to be in at the start of the Alternative Comedy movement too and we made it a policy to have no racist, sexist or homophobic material on our circuit.
But now, with the right rising again, hate crimes rising rapidly (they have doubled in the last five years), and two racists in charge of America and the UK, it is time to take a stand again. Much has been made of the Bulgarian’s racist chants, as if it doesn’t happen here! I can think of two incidents in the last two years involving Farnborough players. Josh Huggins was racially abused by a Salisbury player, while John Oyenuga, had beer thrown at him at Taunton. Unfortunately, John could not identify exactly who had made the comments, or who had thrown the beer and sadly, the people (cowards), around the guy didn’t help. Taunton were effectively let off, receiving nothing more than a strongly worded letter from the FA.
If you hear anything at a game that is racist please tell a steward.