Racism is not exclusive to Poland and Ukraine
Euro 2012 was a great tournament for those of us who love soccer. However, it also made the headlines for those with no interest in the sport for some very unfortunate reasons.
It all started with a BBC documentary about racism among soccer fans in the host countries, Ukraine and Poland. The film – which questioned the wisdom of the sport’s European governing body Uefa in choosing these countries to host the competition – showed Asian students at a league game in Ukraine being attacked by racist thugs, some of whom were seen giving the Nazi salute.
The footage was followed by a quick interview with former England and Spurs defender Sol Campbell, who advised fans of an ethnic minority background like himself not to travel abroad for the tournament. The documentary questioned the wisdom of the UEFA for choosing these countries to host the tournament.
The problem with the BBC’s film is that it was a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. Although some isolated incidents of racist chanting were directed at Dutch players during an open training session in Krakow, racism did not arise as a significant issue during the tournament matches. That’s not to say that racism in Poland and Ukraine, is not a growing problem – but if the BBC had looked a little closer to home they might have had some soul-searching to do.
England crashed out of the tournament after losing against Italy in a penalty shoot-out. It just so happened that the two English players who missed their penalty kicks, Ashley Young and Ashley Cole, are black. And it wasn’t long before the two were subjected to a torrent of racial abuse on Twitter coming from back home in England.
It brought to mind the abuse from a white Welsh student directed at Bolton Wanderers star Fabrice Muamba as he was being treated on the pitch by paramedics following his collapse and cardiac arrest during a league match in March. Another incident you may not have heard of is the verbal abuse levelled at Egyptian striker Mido by Newcastle fans after he scored Middlesbrough’s first goal against the Magpies in the Premier League back in 2007; the BBC was guilty of silence on that one, despite many newspapers – even the xenophobic Daily Mail, covering the story.
Racism in English soccer has a long and torrid history. The far-right English Defence League has well known soccer hooligans in its ranks, and it’s sister organisation the Welsh Defence League was set up by one-time hooligan Jeff Marsh, who was convicted in 1989 of stabbing two Manchester United fans.
Here in Northern Ireland, the Irish Football Association (IFA) fined Ballymena United £1,250 after finding the club’s fans guilty of being racist towards Dungannon’s Barbadian goalkeeper Alvin Rouse in 2009.
For the BBC to accuse other European countries of poisoning the well while ignoring the racism perpetrated at home is inexcusable. The media has an important role to play in giving racism the red card by educating the public on how society as a whole benefits from diversity, and by providing facts, not myths, about immigration.
Mohammed Samaana is a free- lance writer based in Belfast.
