Spot on marra! racism, and many more discriminatory practices for that matter, are a global promlem and not just confined to Russia. I dare bet that if the hate crime laws were disbanded in the UK, then racism etc would be far more open and rife than it is right now. I don't know what the answer is, but I believe to take the tournament from Russia because of this would make the problem worse rather than improve the situation.
I remember when bananas were thrown at John Fashanu (Wimbledon) at SJP. It was awful during the 70s and 80s when I think of it. I remember Cyrille Regis of Coventry being booed every time he touched the ball - just for being black. I was actually pleased when he went on a mazy run and scored. Didn't cheer though, which I felt like doing. I would have got my face put back.
sorry, for those sticking up for russia, you're all totally wrong. andre bikey said in an interview when he played there he needed to carry a gun for protection. when the fans put up the banner thanking west brom for signing odemwingie, and plastered bananas over it, a senior official defended them and claimed they were referencing the well known russian phrase "to do a banana", as in to mess things up, and of course were in no way being racist. after being awarded the world cup, when questioned on the lack of ethnic diversity in russia, a senior official said "it will be good for us, many people here have never seen a black person". they keep legal (not illegal) migrants from africa in shacks in siberia, because they don't want them mixing with the general population, as that could lead to the amoral society that plagues western europe and the americas. that may be paraphrased, but it came from a senior russian government official responsible for immigration. we have our problems in this country, but russia is a whole lot worse. more pointedly, i feel there is a very good chance something horrible will happen to the supporters of an african nation or two, should they manage to get into the country in the first place.
BillySmartsCircus: Spot on. Russia, and Eastern Europe in general, are far worse than we ever were when it comes to racism. FIFA will come to regret their decision.
from memory didnt some neo-nazis in Germany burn a house down filled with Turkish nationalists before the world cup in Germany and they still got it. Persoanally i think the World Cup in Russia will be fine, they will be on their best behaviour for the 4 weeks, and then it will go to **** again.
Thank you MRAW, at least somebody got my point. Look, I'm not sticking up for Russia here but quite honestly some of you need to stop being so ****ing sanctimonious & get off your high horses. I'll put this as simply as I can. Want happened in Russia is totally unacceptable, on that we agree. BUT, I have saw similar things happen in this country during the 70's & 80's. Bearing in mind that as far as black immigrants go, Russia is probably at about the same stage we were then, so they have some way to go. Most of the former Warsaw pact nations are the same. If the world cup had gone to Spain no **** would have cared despite the monkey chants our black players got a few years ago. I'll ask all fellow fans a question I think is reasonable: Is calling a man a black b/white b any more offensive than calling someone a fat b or a skinny b or a spotty b or a bald b or a paddy b or a fenian b or a proddy orange scum b or mackem b or a maggie b? Do you get where I'm coming from? Some of those phrases have been directed at me in the past & sometimes still are and to my children. You sometimes get it at the caravan parks when people wear their tops, from grown adults as well like. A term is only dirogatory if you allow it to be. I used to be offended, now I just smile & laugh at those who use such terms as it pisses them off so much more if they know they HAVEN'T upset you. Living in very bigoted & polarised parts of Great Britain has taught me this, it was a lesson I took well. Thanks for listening.
Very true Chunky Balls. If i'm not mistaken, the last world cup was in S.Africa, where there used to be a real racial divide, the like of which we have not seen. Seemed to be ok on the whole, with the exception of. one or two major incidents.
That's what I mean Comm. One poster mentioned Russia's crime rate. Well, lets face it, S Africa's crime rate was terrible with Johannesburg being one of the murder capitals of the world yet the tournament passed without too much trouble. Another poster said that things had never been that bad in England,(banana chucking), well either he's under 30 or lead a very sheltered, blinkered life. If a person is a racist bigot then banning from expressing their views will not change their minds. As RAW said, if the laws were removed, I think it would be just as bad.
sorry, saying "it used to happen here, and still does, though not as bad" is not a defence for racism anywhere (and institutionalised racism at that). also - "Is calling a man a black b/white b any more offensive than calling someone a fat b or a skinny b or a spotty b or a bald b or a paddy b or a fenian b or a proddy orange scum b or mackem b or a maggie b? Do you get where I'm coming from? Some of those phrases have been directed at me in the past & sometimes still are and to my children." i understand where you are coming from totally, all of those are out of order, but my point was that russian officials, in the last few months, have excused racist behaviour, made racist remarks themselves, and keep legal immigrants holed up in shacks in siberia to stop them (heaven forbid!) breeding with the locals. if they were locking up bald guys or spotty guys, it would be just as bad, but then as far as i know there won't be several teams, with several thousand fans, of spotty or bald men coming to russia any time soon (maybe there will, what a sight that would be). you can't excuse ingrained, institutional racism like that. i think we get a lot wrong in this country, and racism is very definitely an issue (have worked with paid-up members of the bnp before, and it made my ****ing skin crawl), but compared to most countries we are actually unbelievably tolerant, even compared to america, land of the free, but not if are mexican, want to abort your child, like allah or putting your cock in another man's ahnus.
