"There is no racism (on the field), but maybe there is a word or gesture that is not correct. The one affected by this should say this is a game and shake hands." Sepp Blatter, November 2011
i dont care if he resigns over his comments, he should resign because he has singlehandly kept football in the dark ages, awarded world cups for money and runs fifa like a dictatorship (if you run against me i will convieniently drop it to the press you are corrupt)
He should resign for many reasons, including this. But Jason Roberts says it best here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15770241.stm Blatter is probably representing the views of a great deal of people within football, so his resignation would only be a very small step in solving this problem. As it turns out racism is no less common than it was in the mid-20th century, when racial slurs where considered acceptable and could even be heard on TV and radio. The only difference nowadays is that political correctness has cast a veil over this problem, as it is no longer considered acceptable for people to express racist opinions. But these opinions are still held by a large number of people up and down this country, and it's not just in football. Only when racist attitudes are defeated in society as a whole will they be defeated in football. Blatter should still resign, but it won't help.
Sadly you are absolutely correct. Football is under the microscope more than most other aspects of society because it is more in the eye of the media more of the time, so things which happen in football are held up to scrutiny more than say, Fred Bloggs making a racist remark down the pub. But Fred Bloggs' views on life are actually more important than Sepp Blatter's, because he is a "typical" white working-class person, and it is his, and others who still hold inherently racist, sexist, homophobic, or whatever, attitudes, who somehow all have to be dragged into the 21st Century before public figures like Blatter will ever change their attitudes. I have absolutely no idea how this is done, but I agree with Joe that political correctness isn't the way to do it.
Don't get me wrong, of course political correctness will not change the opinions of these ignorant people, but I think it has improved the situation because now the people who hold these racist beliefs will have less influence on the rest of society. As the great comedian Stewart Lee once said, "If political correctness has achieved one thing, it's to make the Conservative Party cloak its inherent racism behind more creative language."
Hooray, a Don't Care option. Which this time, I'm not going to use. He should have gone yonks ago, and so this seems as good a time to resign. BTW, love Stewart Lee's incisive comedy. That's a cracker of an observation.
I am old enough to remember when a workplace like that depicted on "Life on Mars" was the norm. Sexual innuendo to embarrass the women and racist jokes to put down the blacks was normal. By changing what is acceptable we both protect the intended victim and offer an alternative way of thinking/talking to others who may have "gone along" with whichever ism was being touted. You'll never change the dyed in the wool racist, but you can marginalise him or her. Blatter's comments are outrageous as he invited racists (and of course there will be racist footballers just as there are racist anybody elses!)to be racist and then say "only kidding, mate, no offence". Of course if the black recipient fails to see the "joke" they are then blamed. This man is an anachronism from a non-golden era. Football is the world game, and all of us who love it should celebrate the way that it challenges racism and demand the head of this man who purports to front the game .
On yes! To be honest I probably hate JT more. I knew Blatter was a pr@t but my opinion has changed in wake of the racism story!
I read recently that Sepp Blatter (or Septic Bladder as one of my mates referred to him as recently !) has amazingly awarded - on behalf of FIFA - the television rights for the 2012 Euro Finals to a company run by his own son ! What's the chance of that happening ? Corrupt ? Surely not ?
The trouble is that it is really only the British who have taken umbridge at the dinosaurs words. This doesn't appear to have made any impact elsewhere so the senile old b@gger carries on - swatting those pesky Brits aside, after all it's just sour grapes - and remains completely unaccountable to any authority except his own. FIFA is not fit for purpose - except self-aggrandisement.
