Racism: The ugly side of football

Football has several issues. Even if problems such as hazing, sledging or diving are attributed to testosterone, there are bigger problems that are not only appalling but also regressive. To have football marred by the stench of racism, well, that is just wrong.

There were days when football was a religion in itself and the country or club you supported became your family. You didn’t pay elaborate attention to the members because you knew, they were your family and you owed them unconditional support; to the opposition you offered respect, if not admiration. That was then. This is dismal.

I anticipated the Under-21 game between England’s Young Lions and the Serbs to be quite a cracker, except the aftermath of the match was alarming and disheartening. Eastern Europe isn’t known to be overtly welcoming to begin with but this time around, second time offender, Serbia pulled a stunt that was shocking. Vile chants, racist slogans, fist fights and unnecessary provocation from the audience shamed the game. The last time that Serbia was pulled up for racism, they were let off with nothing more than a gentle rap on the wrist; a meagre fine of sixteen thousand pounds. The UEFA failed to provide an effective deterrent which resulted in what I would call the worst display of sportsmanship and game conduct in a while.

The English defeated the Serbs and secured a 2–0 aggregate score and a trip to Israel next summer. It was definitely a proud moment for the team up until several black players from the English team were subjected to racist chants and were assaulted by the audience. Danny Rose was sent off despite the fact that he was subjected to racial abuse and physical assault, and his only retaliation was to make vague ape like gestures. All hell broke loose when the final whistle was blown and the players started celebrating their victory, the English more or less kept their heads but the Serbs got pretty violent. The English goal keeping coach, Martin Thomas was butted; Assistant Head Coach Steve Wigley was kicked in the stomach and the goalkeeper Jack Butland was on the receiving end of a flying chair.

Head Coach Stuart Pearce called this turn of events disgraceful and is hoping for a strict verdict from the UEFA. He also said that he was extremely proud of how his players conducted themselves; he was proud of the unity amongst the team members. He went on to say that he is more focused on the championships that are underway and would leave the task of issuing deterrents and punishments to the offenders, to the UEFA.

Players, coaches as well as the technical staff decided to participate in the thuggish brawl; after winning the game, the Young Lions could’ve contributed to the mess that was the end of the game but they held their ground and conducted themselves in a rather dignified manner. The Serbian audience employed various methods of intimidation which ranged from suspicious glances to pyrotechnics. Danny Rose’s reaction to the racial abuse was disturbingly heart breaking.

After what transpired it is now up to UEFA to shoulder the responsibility of dealing with the Serbian team, while some are calling for a heftier fine and a few others for a championship and season ban, fair play remains to be witnessed. It’s about time we saw the end of racial abuse, it not only dilutes the essence of the game, it hurts those who have made football their religion and to witness fanaticism of this sort just leads to scathing rage.

The video of the shocking scenes in Serbia last night: