Saturday, March 30, 2013

Building a bonfire.

Rio
This past week, England travelled across Europe to contest two World Cup Qualifiers. They decimated the collection of postman and students San Marino had to offer, then stagnated and stalled to a draw in Montenegro this past Tuesday.

Rather than talking of the four points gained, and the position England have left themselves in to qualify for the World Cup, we're talking about racism....again.

Rio Ferdinand, who was ousted from the England squad after the debacle between his brother Anton, and then National Team captain, John Terry. Terry, who was accused, then subsequently cleared, then subsequently charged with racial abuse. A case, that would've had James Cameron claiming it needed speeding up led to a divide between, at that time England's two first choice central defenders.

After the incident, understandably, Rio Ferdinand decided playing with John Terry wasn't an option, and in a move that really questioned the morality of those in charge of the game, it seemed as if The Football Association had sided with Terry.

Fast Forward to last week, and the England squad announcement for these qualifiers. Terry, who retired from International Football after his charge by the FA, claiming his position was "untenable" was replaced, by Ferdinand. How Ferdinand would handle this call up was an interesting tangent to the normal qualms of who was/wasn't called up.

Would he accept the call, and let bygones be just that? Would he say no, after all, he has been treated horrendously by all those involved with the game. He didn't. What he did wasn't even on the radar, wasn't even fathomable in the slightest.

Ferdinand pulled out the squad, citing he needed to recuperate and was on an official training regiment that this would've distracted. Benefit of the doubt, he's 34, and frequently on the treatment table. However, flying to Qatar, to provide analysis for Al-Jazeera. Not sure that fits into a "regiment".

England fans, unsurprisingly were unimpressed. Yet, the way they felt the need to express the anguish they felt is bordering on idiotic.

Across both games, chants could be loudly heard, obscenities, and burning Rio, and for some unexplained reason, Anton - a player not involved in the England set-up, and if anything an ongoing victim in the saga, being burnt on a bonfire.

Is this racist has been the question all week. I question it's racial connotations, i've been chanting that about Swindon Town and Reading at Oxford games since before I knew what a bonfire was. What it is though, is another indicative sign of the continued hypocrisy of English football fans.

After many years of trying to combat racism, campaigning to see Serbia expunged from international competition after the terrible scenes in the under 21 game, and the viscous abuse and fracas that stemmed from Danny Rose's treatment from the crowd.

Now, England, who have in the past 2 years, played a player who was undergoing a racism charge, a charge where a normal office worker would be suspended pending investigation. If that's not enough, he's still lauded as a hero, and the man racially abused is seen as the villain. Their perhaps maybe some racial undertones behind that madness.

Luis Suarez is perhaps the biggest villain in the Premier League, yet his racism charge was found to be a case of translation, and slightly more innocent than Terry. Yet the Uruguayan is the most abused player in the division, at every ground.

So whether or not, racism has been at play in the stands in San Marino and Montenegro, is neither here or there. There's a sheer lack of morals being displayed by England fans, and a lot of xenophobic propaganda glossing over the majority who just want to watch and enjoy the football.