Reflections on ‘the beautiful game’
THREE black players in the England team – Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka – missed penalties in the final against Italy at Wembley last Sunday (11) night and were subjected to racist abuse as a consequence.
There is an easy way to ensure this kind of behaviour does not recur. There should be a rule banning black players from taking a penalty again. Better still, the England team should be all white, as it was in 1966 when it won the World Cup.
To be serious, the abuse has been widely condemned. Prince William, president of England’s Football Association, spoke for many when he said: “I am sickened by the racist abuse aimed at England players after last night’s match. It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour. It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable.”
Curiously, I can understand the fury of fans whose emotions were manipulated to a frenzy by sections of the media which convinced millions that this time, “football was coming home”.
The penalty shootout could easily have gone against Italy, but when England lost, there was a sense of betrayal for which the black players were held responsible. To be sure, there are black players in the side, but to many, the success of the team was the triumph of a white England.
There are features of footfall I will never understand. Why do England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have separate sides if they are all part of a United Kingdom? This is historical, I know, but shouldn’t the UK play as a team in something that arouses as much emotion as international football? It is almost war by other means.
I don’t think we should lose a sense of perspective. Yes, there is racism, but the UK as a whole is not as racist as it is being made to be. For one thing, a large proportion of professional players at the highest levels of the game are now black. That won’t be reversed.
Those who abused the black players have their counterparts among those leading the campaign against anything they consider “woke”. It is worth pointing out that the opposite of woke is racist.