No im really not. Playing behind closed doors, banning players and coaches seems an appropriate response. What do you suggest they do - kick them out of all tournaments? What action did UEFA take against Spain for the racist abuse aimed at England and particular Ashley Cole in a Madrid friendly? Or is it different when its Spain? I think this is a tougher stance and a step in the right direction.
With all respect, if anything the historical legacy of Western intervention in the Balkans in the 1990s was that we didn't do enough to stop genocidal activity - much like our lack of ****s given for Rwanda etc. Having said that, I think you might be overestimating the rationale of the Serb fans if you think the violence against our U-21 team had anything to do with the dissolution of Yugoslavia... Anyway...its clear to me at least that places with deeply embedded, and relatively socially acceptable racist attitudes are apparently not judged by the same criteria by the powers that be as we are in Britain.
That's diversity for you - it's Serbian culture to boo black players. Of course we in Britain have long since ceased to have any 'racial' incidents. That's one monkey off our back.
I'm not saying there aren't racist incidents in Britain or in our footballing culture - of course there are. I don't think its particularly controversial to say places like Serbia, Russia, or Spain (where there is either very few ethnic minorities or a historical animosity towards Moors/closet fear of being a bit 'Moorish') might have more of a problem with racism than we do. Rather than get into yet another pointless debate that drifts into ideological politics, I'll leave this link (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...a-treats-racism-compared-to-other-issues.html) and let you have the last word.
In current times, being accused of being racist, in some eyes marks you as one down from Jimy Saville and Gary Glitter, therefore the blanket claim that, (despite it being the least racist industry and probably responsible for more millionaires from minority groups than any other industry) football needs to address the racism problem is offensive to me as it marks me as guilty by association. Being a straight white male I don't have the support of a public funded pressure group, and that too isn't seen as racist. Anyone who doubts that slur, ask non-football mums about letting their kids go to football, they don't like to because of 'all the trouble', when did you last see any? but I digress... What we've seen in the few but much publicised incidents is that a member of the public in the crowd has broken the rules of entry to football stadiums. There has been a rapid and thorough investigation and those found guilty are banned from going back in to the stadiums for a significant period of time. What's clear from that is that the member of the public in question didn't learn the behaviour in the football ground, but in society, the same society that, having dealt with them as far as they can, football sends them back to. The question isn't racism at football, that really doesn't exist to any extent, it's racism in society. They are just trying to shift their problem. It's just a question of finding out who they are.
Countries with few or no ethnic minorities don't have a anti racism gravy train industry like we do. Maybe that's why the issue is not so prominent for them? This hissy lecturing of other countries with a 'Why can't you be more like us?' attitude has long since ceased to bear fruit. We are seen as stand-offish, hypocritical and a faded world power in many parts of Europe. In short, they don't give a **** what we think they should or shouldn't do.
There are fewer ethnic minorities in some other countries because there's no financial incentive for them to be there. or example Spain gives them no benefits and those that come to work the fields are gathered up and bused back to the border once they've finished. Any foreigners there are standing on their own feet and contributing to the economy, even having to pay for their own translators or any official transactions. I don't think people have that much of an issue with foreigners per se, but plenty have an issue with the way the system operates as in many eyes it appears to work against home nationals and it is this that is a significant factor in the lack of cohesion. However, that's societies issue, not footballs.
