Racism, xenophobia, homophobia, hooliganism and any number of other social ills have blemished world soccer for far too long. Other sports aren't immune to inhumanity, but soccer seems uniquely and universally plagued. (Interestingly, the U.S. soccer community, especially over the past decade or so, has been one of the world's most open and welcoming national collectives.) While many in global soccer vocally denounce the perpetrators of the incident du jour, and public relations campaigns against racism are de rigueur, the dirty open secret is that governing bodies have heretofore generally been unwilling to put real teeth into their verbal pearl-clutching.
The issue once again came into sharp relief this weekend when Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. was subject to grossly offensive racist abuse from fans at Valencia. Vinicius, and Afro-Brazilian and one of world soccer's most electric young stars, was visibly upset by fans chanting "monkey, monkey" in his direction. Per La Liga's protocols, the match was paused and the home fans warned, but officials levied no additional punishment.
After the match, Vinicius posted this on his Instagram account (click the translate link):
And then today, more graphic details of the treatment this gifted young man has faced (translate, again):
Athletes, commentators, politicians of all stripes have come to Vini's defense, as they should. The leadership of La Liga issued a strongly-worded statement. Which means fuck all. Valencia claims they've identified three people who will be banned from the stadium for life. Which means fuck all. Valencia's Mestalla Stadium seats 49,430, and nobody shouted down these racist cretins. Unless and until fans of every team in every stadium refuse to allow this kind of nonsense tarnish their club and their city, a few bad apples indeed spoil the entire bunch.
We're long past the time where words and hand-slaps can make any sort of difference. It's time for the nuclear option. At least a tactical nuke or two.
English soccer legend and SiriusXM FC commentator Rodney Marsh said this morning that a club that can't control its fans should be removed from all competition for a year. That kind of death penalty applied a couple of times would certainly get folks' attention.
I think Marsh's solution is a bit aggro, though it makes sense as a cumulative option for repeat offenders. My solution's a little bit less drastic, but designed to hit fans and clubs where it hurts. For a first offense, a team should lose four home games - league or cup. That doesn't mean they play at home in an empty stadium. It means they have to incur the cost to travel to their opponent and face the increased challenge of having to compete on the road. A second offense means half a season without home matches and a nine-point deduction in the standings. A third offense takes away home games for an entire year and another nine points docked.
And if those persistently racist fucks can't get it straight after that, I'm all for the Marsh Method.
As Edmund Burke is credited with saying (though it may have actually been John Stuart Mill), “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” For far too long, good men (or those who want to be seen as good) have done basically nothing in the face of egregious misconduct excused in the name of sporting passion. No more, says this humble blogger.
In the words of a great man, it's time to stop talking about it, and do something. I'd rather be celebrating Vinicius for the amazing shit he does on the field than worried for him for the awful shit he deals with from submoronic assholes who aren't on it.
VINÍCIUS JÚNIOR SCORES A GOLAZO WITH REAL MADRID'S FIRST SHOT OF THE GAME! 🚀 😱 pic.twitter.com/MgGEYFjqkk
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 9, 2023
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10 comments:
I was just explaining to my kids that white supremacy is a global effort, not just an American thing.
indeed. we're pretty good at it, but we've got competition.
How can we dance when our earth is turning?
you won't be surprised to know that song has been in my head for a few days
my neighbor trace mcsorley signed with the patriots recently. if he sticks, he'll make it through his fifth season in the nfl, with nine games played and one start thus far. he'll at $1.1m to his $2.5m in career earnings. he's got a way to go to catch chase daniel, who's started in 5 games in his 13 year career, pocketing $36m along the way. teach your kids to be third-string quarterbacks and good people. lucrative and pretty cushy job.
Just watched that video. Pretty fucking horrible. And that the club is appealing it...
“Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate penalty imposed by the Competition Committee on the club.”
Indignation, huh? I'd tell them to go to hell, but they don't need my nudge to get there.
proud mary no longer burnin'. pour some out for the great tina turner.
Dang it. Seemed like she might live forever. Hers is a great story.
those are some cute rutgers tennis ladies!
always enjoy when we get professor truck’s internal monologue crossing streams with the comments
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