Kevin Prince Boateng gets racially abused by a lower-league Italian club's fans, walks off pitch and the ref abandons the match: [video=youtube;nXyqFZ_fghI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXyqFZ_fghI[/video] Have to wonder whether this would have happened had it not been a friendly but fair play to him (and the ref). Good to see most of the crowd applauding him too.
Agree. We can't really rely on UEFA's pathetic sanctions, so lets deal with it ourselves and walk-off if it happens.
Yes, not just the victimised player either, his colleagues, and the opposing players as well, should walk off with him. If this started to happen regularly then UEFA & FIFA would have to take notice.
[video=youtube;gQv4aIXaGQ4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQv4aIXaGQ4[/video] That happened a few years back.
Eto'o was convinced to continue though and that match wasn't abandoned: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4751876.stm
It will take this to happen a number of times before the authorities start to take this seriously as many European countries don't think there is anything wrong with racism Well done Boateng!
Glad he waalked off. Just wish when he kicked the ball into the crowd, he aimed it a bit harder and a bit more accurately.
But when Danny Rose did this in Serbia, he was red carded and banned..... We really do have some cretins "running" the game.
Kicking a ball into the crowd is dangerous and unlikely that you will hit the selected target. Cantona knew what he was doing.
Following the incident, Pro Patria say they will offer free entry to their next home game for any black people.
Thought I'd bump this as we have now had a reaction from Sepp Blatter, who says the AC Milan players shouldn't have walked off. He says there should be sanctions against clubs who allow racist chanting at matches, fair enough, but why should players have to put up with it while it happens? You and I wouldn't put up with being abused in our workplace, so why should footballers? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20926787
Well, I certainly think the racist abuser is the winner here in some ways - probably got more or less what he wanted (a rise), and they were probably unlikely to win that game. And a shame to make the entire crowd suffer because of one idiot. Workplace analogy would only really be a valid one if thousands of people flocked from across the country, paying good money, to watch you sitting at your desk. Which of course they may do! But yes, setting a precedent for walking off may in the long-run force FIFA/UEFA to take some action - doubt it, though. They're more likely to enforce sanctions on clubs whose players walk off!
He made one valid point though...what would stop you walking off because you are losing? Anyone could claim to hear something if it suited them.
To be honest, this makes sense to me. As much as I feel for Boateng, I don't think he should be allowed to do that in a competitive match. I think footballers are going to have to try to ignore the abuse and deal with it once the game is over. It sucks, but I think Blatter's got a point.
600 euro's.......... that'll cut it out. it's punishment's like this, and the ones handed to the serbian fa which are what make me support the players leaving the pitch. it's not about punishing the racist fans, it's about pressuring the governing bodies to try and tackle this Whilst blatters point's are valid, I've got to say it's an extremely cynical mindset. I don't think any player would feign racism to avoid a loss, and the repercussions for that player would be life long. bale goes down easy and it's tarnished his name. the boy who cried wolf over racism to save a result wouldn't play the game again.
