Devon Dick
FIFA, WORLD football's governing body, has made a significant PR step to highlight the problem of racism in football. During the quarterfinal matches, with the largest TV audience watching, there were banners declaring, 'Say no to racism.' The organisers must be commended for bringing to the awareness of the world this scourge of racism.
However, at least one TVJ football analyst was unaware of racism in football. During the football match between France and Spain, one football analyst, and it was not Ity and Fancy Cat, said he was going to make a 'flippant' comment. The comment I heard was that there was no racism in football and furthermore he added that fans making racist comments in the stands should not affect professional footballers.
Sometimes one is not sure when this commentator is being serious, or just 'tracing'. However, the survey shows that teams do better at home with the support of fans rather than when they play away form home. In World Cup history, host countries do much better than normally; for example, Japan and South Korea. Furthermore, René Simoes, former coach of Jamaica's Reggae Boyz, in helping us to qualify for our first World Cup said that the Jamaican fans must be the 12th person on the field. Players say that fans give them a lift. What is said in the stands can motivate.
Monkey calls are directed at African players with the implication that Africans descended from monkeys. I honestly did not know that persons still believed this theory. Any society that can produce a significant minority of persons who would openly proclaim such views has a serious problem with its educational system and societal values.
RACIST COMMENTS
Racism in football is alive and well. Another TVJ analyst, Clyde Juredini, in the match between France and Spain, reminded the viewers that the Spanish coach had made racist comments about Thierry Henry. The coach told his player that he was better than Henry who was a "piece of black s...t" The coach claimed that he was no racist but the comment was to motivate his player. The Spanish Federation did not even slap him on the wrist. And as it turns out he was unable to motivate his players against France.
Germany issued an advisory about potential racial abuse and attack in Germany.
I am not just interpreting racism to be racial prejudice or racial abuse. Racism is an exploitative system that puts one race at an unfair and unequal advantage to another race.
The BBC has a documentary on English Football featuring Lindy Delaphena, the first Jamaican to play in the top English Football League, and Jamaican-born, John Barnes, who played for England and underscored how these two men were subjected to racial abuse. The documentary lists a litany of racial abuse and cites instances of racism. The film states that nobody of African origin was a manager of a Premiership team. Who are the decision makers on the English FA Board?
Former great players, Jurgen Klinsmann, and Marco van Basten, have no country or significant club coaching experience but they are head coach of Germany and Holland respectively. Why is it that no one of African ancestry has been treated in that way? Since Brazil is the six-time
world champions would it not be expected that Brazilian coaches would get top countries and clubs to manage and earn big bucks? This is not so and why?
Simon Jenkins in The Sunday Times (July 2) said, "Iraq was a neo-imperialist spasm, a belief that a superior West could re-order the politics of an inferior East."
Racism is alive and well.
Rev Devon Dick is pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'Rebellion to Riot: the Church in Nation Building.'
