SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND – MAY 13: Rio Ferdinand of Manchester United looks dejected after the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Manchester United at the Stadium of Light on May 13, 2012 in Sunderland, England.
With the Euro Championships 2012 approaching round the corner, almost all eyes are on the new manager of England National Team – Roy Hodgson. Having beaten his rivals for the job, most notably Harry Redknapp, Hodgson is looking to fill the shoes of his predecessor, Fabio Capello. Capello reigned earlier this year when he found out that the Football Association had stripped John Terry of the England captaincy without consulting his opinions. Terry was removed of the privilege and honor of being captain after he allegedly made racist comments against Anton Ferdinand during a league match.
And that is precisely what this article is all about: What is Roy Hodgson, currently West Brom’s manager, thinking when he left Rio Ferdinand, Anton’s brother, out of the squad when Rio is clearly one of the finest defenders England has seen in modern times?
Ferdinand, shocked at the snub by Hodgson, lashed out at the new coach, claiming that he was left out because of what Terry had said to his brother, fueling speculation that Hodgson did not want a confrontation between the two top-notch defenders during the Championships.
Having made the Manchester United first team for almost every match, Ferdinand has shone through his career and has become experienced with every hard-fought tackle. To leave him out of the squad is putting one foot into the elimination bottle. The England squad needs him.
Recent Cases of Racism in EPL
It was saddening to see cases involving racist remarks and petty gestures mar the delight of playing football matches between established English clubs. Terry’s clash with Anton Ferdinand wasn’t the only thing that brought much chatter into the football world. The infamous Luis Suarez-Patrick Evra incident constantly grabbed headlines too.
Suarez had allegedly mocked Evra during an intense match of rivalry between their clubs, but that tension went beyond what anyone had thought – racist remarks. Suarez was slammed with an 8-match ban where during his absence, the Liverpool team suffered in performance. Evra, on the other hand, went unpunished. And when everyone thought they could put the incident behind them, Suarez and Evra had the ‘shaking-hands’ issue.
From the replays of videos, Evra had apparently intentionally lowered his hand when he saw Suarez approaching. The minute striker, sensing something amiss in Evra’s seemingly insincere gesture, snubbed the Man United player’s handshake, sparking yet another uproar. While most of the criticism was lambasted at Suarez, it remains unclear till today who had exactly ignited that flicker of hatred and pettiness.
Let’s put Racism behind us
Yes, football is competitive. Wait, football is all about competition, but more often than not, football transcends into aggression. But let’s take Racism out of the picture. It was there in the early days of football which is unacceptable. Let’s have a fair game, an equal playing field for all to enjoy the beautiful game of futsal bola.
United fan grumbling on……