No racism in football? 5 recent examples that prove Blatter is delusional

‘I would deny it. There is no racism, there is maybe one of the players towards another, he has a word or a gesture, which is not the correct one, but also the one who is affected by that. He should say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands, and this can happen.’

This is what Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA (only the biggest governing body of the sport in the world – therefore making him possibly the most powerful man in the sport) had to say when asked about if he thought there was racism on the football pitch. This was obviously met with hundreds of responses of incredulity, anger and shock that led to a quick apology on the part of Blatter, but funnily enough, when asked about the comments that were calling for his resignation, he retorted, “I cannot resign, why should I?”

What’s funny is Blatter’s comments come at a time when FIFA is actively campaigning against racism through their “Say No To Racism” – was he not aware that the organization that he heads is campaigning against racism when he made those comments? Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, here are five instances of racism in football both on the large and small scale that clearly proves Blatter was indeed, wrong, and to some extent, possibly delusional considering the magnitude of some of these incidents.

1. Luis Aragones and Titi -

In 2004, a Spanish Television crew recorded the Spanish national coach (at the time), Luis Aragones, making racist references to Thierry Henry in a bid to motivate his teammate at the time, Jose Antonio Reyes. Aragones was allegedly caught saying “Demuestra Que Eres Mejor Que Ese Negro Mierda!” – which translated into English, supposedly means – “Show us that you’re better than that shitty black guy!”

Luis Aragones was accused of racism in 2004

The incident caused an uproar in England, where many people called for Aragones’ sacking. Their Spanish counterparts did not share these views however, and the National Football Federation in Spain refused to take any action. Thierry Henry condemned the entire ide of racism and intiated the Stand Up Speak Up campaign against racism in 2005. But the attention the incident received in the media, in turn, influenced the next instance of racism I will talk about…

2. Ashley Cole and SWP at the Bernabeu

When England visited Spain at the Bernabeu soon after the Aragones-Henry incident, the atmosphere was, well, unfriendly to say the least. Ashley Cole (whose father is from Barbados), and Shaun Wright Phillips were both targeted, with a notable proportion of the Spanish home support making monkey chants whenever they touched the ball.

Ashley Cole and SWP – racially abused at the Bernabeu?

The English press unsurprisingly blamed Aragones’ remarks for the instigation of this incident, and the Royal Spanish Football Federation was fined 87,000$ by UEFA, and were also warned that Spain could be suspended from important international competitions.

3. Samuel Eto’o and Real Zaragoza

Back when Samuel Eto’o played for Barcelona under Frank Rijkaard, in February of 2006, the fans of Real Zaragoza at La Romareda racially abused Eto’o. Peanuts were hurled onto the pitch whenever Eto’o had the ball, and certain Zaragoza fans went to the extent of making monkey-like chants. Eto’o seemed likely to leave the pitch in the middle of the game, but teammates and the referee intervened to calm him down.

Samuel Eto’o was subject to monkey-like chants at La Romareda, and responded by scoring and celebrating by dancing like a monkey.

None of the incidents were mentioned in the referee’s match report – in fact, the match report stated that the behavior of the crowd was “normal”. The fans were eventually identified but only banned from attending Zaragoza games for just 5 months.

4. Ron Atkinson and the ITV fiasco

Ron Atkinson, also known as “Big Ron”, who is widely recognized as one of Britain’s best-known football pundits, resigned from ITV in 2004 after being caught on air making what was clearly a racist remark about Marcel Desailly, the ex-Chelsea player.

Ron Atkinson was asked to resign after making a racist remark about Desailly

Assuming that his microphone was off, he made a racist comment that was broadcast to various countries in the Middle East – and he eventually left his job at ITV and at The Guardian as a result of this gaffe.

5. Jason Euell at the Britannia Stadium

In a League Cup match between Blackpool FC and Stoke City held at the Britannia Stadium back in 2009, a Stoke City fan in the stands racially abused Ex Blackpool player Jason Euell, while he was sitting on the substitutes bench. Euell, as one would expect, confronted the supporter that verbally abused him, and had to be restrained by Blackpool manager Ian Holloway. Holloway condemned the incident, and Stoke City did give Euell an official apology.

Jason Euell was racially abused at the Britannia Stadium

Euell later said –

“It did hurt. I felt I had to stand up for all colours and creeds and show that we won’t accept it. I’m proud that I made a stand. It was a shock to hear what came out of the guy’s mouth. Racism in football is not dead and buried but it’s still a shock to hear that kind of thing in close proximity. There were people near the idiot who didn’t agree with it, but there were others who turned a blind eye, which was disappointing.”

It is important to note that these are just 5 incidents that I’ve handpicked, and that there were many, many incidents of racism in the recent past – Malaysian fans who were at Chelsea’s pre-season game against the Malaysian national football team supposedly booed Benayoun because of his Israeli origin; Oguchi Onyewu was punched and shouted at by fans while playing for the Belgian side Standard Liege, and was also racially abused by players of other teams. Balotelli bore the brunt of racial abuse, time and again at Inter Milan; the Egyptian footballer Mido who used to play for Middlesbrough was subject to Islamophobic chants by a small section of Newcastle supporters; Maurice Edu, a Rangers player was racially abused by his own club’s fans after a Champions League game in 2009 – the list goes on. What is for sure is the fact that racism is not dead in football – on and off the pitch.