Racism in Olympics Soccer

1. 55

   jcalesposted 11 years ago

   The main topic here is Sports and racism so it should be in this category.
   
   There are growing fears of racism at Olympic events - mainly from the race-related soccer hooligans in Poland and the Ukraine.
   Examples:   
   - Crowds making monkey chants at black players and targeting minority athletes with foul language and physical threats
   
   - Footage of Asian students being attacked
   
   - scenes of fans making Nazi salutes and chanting anti-Semitic epithets.
   
   The families of many players have opted not to make the trip.
   
   search for this title for original source - Racism fears for Euro 2012 rise after explosive documentary; soccer world holds its breath
   
   Your thoughts since the UEFA president said it happens. Basically, he condones it as part of the game. Well, only part of the game in Poland and Ukraine.

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   1. 89

      CyclingFitnessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I don't feel that it will be a problems at the coming Olympics due to the likely multi-national aspect of the crowd's and the fact that English football has done much to cut racism out of the sport over the years
      
      The Poland and Ukraine fans during the European Championships didn't prove to have any heavy elements of racism with the exception of a couple of incidents involving fans (not Polish or Ukrainian fans)

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2. 84

   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   Because soccer fans travel in big groups they can bring in mob behavior the host doesn't want to accept.  I wish FIFA and other groups would do more about this.

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3. 64

   Greek Oneposted 11 years ago

   it happens in basketball (Spain's national team making 'slanty eye gestures'
   
   
   
   it happens in hockey (banana thrown at player below)...
   
   
   
   it happens in life everyday... so it's not just a soccer thing

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4. 55

   jcalesposted 11 years ago

   Unruly fans. Whatcha' gonna do?  Escort them out I guess, so it is not real news then.

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5. 60

   JC the Nomadposted 11 years ago

   I'm going to jump in late here, because this thread really caught my attention and didn't seem to get a very hefty response. There's this strange perception in sports that yelling obscenities at professional athletes is perfectly okay because they have great jobs and make a lot of money. For some reason this justifies acting in an inhumane manner. What is it about live sports that causes us to act like animals? Is it the beer? The testostorone? Jealousy maybe?
   There's no denying that it happens in all sports. Just recently, MLB player Carl Crawford was subject to racial slurs by a fan, but racism in European soccer is a widespread problem that has persisted for years. UEFA even paid for television advertisements asking fans to help stop racism. Unfortunately there's not much you can do about it, other than to make sure no punches are thrown. Fans pay a lot of money for tickets and think they have the right to act unruly. I'm all for being a rowdy fan and trying to get inside the opponents head, but when you target a player's race, you're not just insulting him or her, you're insulting an entire culture of people.

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6. 62

   Nouveau Skepticposted 11 years ago

   It happens more in soccer, and should cause expulsion for the entire season for any fan that does it, regardless of sport.

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7. 76

   Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years ago

   Maybe the team of the offending fans should be penalized in some fashion.

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8. 62

   Nouveau Skepticposted 11 years ago

   I don't think it is the teams fault.  It is entirely possible to let the fans know they have to cut that out if they want to watch the game.  Then the compliant fans are not penalized and there is a carrot and a stick.

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9. 67

   Pearldiverposted 11 years ago

   I am constantly amazed at how short selective memories are and how as a result, so many bury the whole picture behind a singular frame!
   
   Racism is historically mankind's greatest endorsement of mankind's inability to accept the one thing that it believes sets it apart from other species... it's ability to celebrate the diversity of it's uniqueness!
   
   For those with less selective memories... racism was demonstrated in a far greater significance than in soccer, during the 1936 Olympics at Berlin (with Hitler and the magnificent Jessie Owens), the 1976 Olympics at Munich (with the Palestinian Terrorists) and at the Montreal Olympics with a boycott from African nations! 
   
   I'm sure that for many, the 'Race Card' is a very profitable spin on many sports.. but it remains a testimony to the shallowness of mankind, as a whole!

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