South African soccer star Matthew Booth – the only white player on the national side – appeared to be booed by a contingent of black South African fans during a Confederation Cup match with Iraq.
But in fact, the fans were showing support for the South African defender by calling his name, “Booth,” in a drawn out fashion that to some resembled booing.
“I don’t think that there was any form of racial discrimination involved,” said Frank Buckley of Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI).
While SARI originally put out a press release condemning the apparently racist behaviour of the South African supporters, Buckley said that this was a mistake.
“It’s not a slag against [Booth]. They do that cheer all the time at games,” said Buckley. “A little more research on our part confirmed this.”
The match, held at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, ended in a 0–0 draw.
– Charlie Johnson
