Obviously what Andre Gray posted on Twitter 4 years ago is totally unacceptable but i don't see why the premier league are now slapping him with a charge. It was 4 years ago, he wasn't even playing in the prem back then. What next? Is Harry Kane gonna get a retrospective FA homework assignment because he missed one when he was 8?
I'm assuming you also condemn this by Rangers fans as well, then? http://s244.photobucket.com/user/mrcygl/media/Rangers_zps5e0b987e.jpg.html It's no secret that I have very strong opinions on the whole Israel-Palestine issue. And in principle, I do agree that sport is meant to be about togetherness. But when there are injustices and human rights violations occurring in certain areas of the world, I don't see a problem with showing support for those that are being systematically oppressed. In fact, I feel that we as humans have a moral obligation to be doing this. Besides, I'm not exactly sure why Israel are in a European competition anyway.
Because no other continent accepted them despite the fact they are a recognised country. A case of human rights? Talking of human rights- Hapoel Beer-Sheva have Arab players in the team because in Israel , League teams allow all players to play for them. I can think of plenty of leagues around the world that would not allow an Israeli to play for them.
I think they were a member of the Asian confederacy until quite recently. You could say the same thing about Azerbaijan and Khazakstan I suppose - not sure why they're considered eligible for UEFA competitions either. I hadn't seen the Rangers incident you've highlighted but if it was to make a political statement - yes, I'd condemn it. Judging by the context though - and this more or less is the spine of my argument - the two cases look completely different. The Celtic incident was an organised, orchestrated effort to make Israeli fans and players extremely uncomfortable. The Rangers one just looks like a single flag being passed around a small section of the stand. The real question to ask is: why was it there? The answer is pretty common knowledge, and gets to the heart of how pathetic it is when people as - with all due respect - simple as your average football fan - tries to use sport as a political agenda. For the same reason you'll see Palestinian flags at Feyenoord games and Israeli ones at Ajax, the only reason Rangers display Israel flags is because their arch rivals display the 'opposite' type. There is no thought process, no logic, just plain old sectarian rivalry dressed up in a charade of sophisticated political protest. My line of work involves a lot of interfaith work and tackling the racism that is entrenched in society on many levels. I travel around Europe and meet so many incredible people who are risking their lives to build bridges between communities. And when I see stuff like that it makes my blood boil. I watch those images thinking: 'sport is without a shadow of a doubt the most powerful bridge builder in existence. It's free, it's fun, it centres around teamwork and mutual cooperation, and it makes people realise that they have a common language. From the famous Christmas Day football match across the trenches to modern day tournaments, it more than anything else makes us realise that we're all only human, that our planet is dying, and that an almost completely globalised world can and should mean greater tolerance and cooperation a than at any point in our history.' Whatever your feelings about the Middle East - and you're perfectly entitled to them - I implore you to realise that allowing them to infiltrate sport doesn't help anyone. The Israeli government couldn't give a ****e, the Palestinian people aren't helped whatsoever (although the £85,000 raised by the Celtic fans was a nice gesture, and could've been accomplished without turning the whole thing into a spectacle.), and the fragile bridges that decent people work so hard to build are destroyed by a group of people who with the greatest respect probably don't know the first thing about the political manifesto they are so keen on subscribing to. I am good friends with a Celtic fan (who hates Brendan Rodgers too ) who once confessed to me that he hates Israel 'because the scum don't'. And there you have it. Anyways I'm off on one of my rants again so we'll leave it there. By the same token - I would respectfully ask for political points to be made on our 'politics thread'
The big question is which is the "Parent" account. Is he a Spurs fan wumming Arsenal or an Arsenal fan wumming Spurs?
I have a few points of contention with this post, however, it is a very emotive subject and this isn't the right thread for this type of discussion, so it's probably best to leave it here.
Even better SD: HIAG's parent account is actually SuckmyKlopp. He is in fact a Liverpool fan, and has strung us all along on the greatest wind-up of all time.
Excellent post. I agree with a lot of what you're saying. Again, I do have a few points of contention but if this subject arises another time, I'll bring it up then. I totally understand where you're coming from, though.
HIAG has done a lot of the former, so for the latter which not606 users who have tried to WUM Spurs 606 do you believe have HIAG traits ??
The alternative is the FA taking no action and saying it's okay to make these kinds of statements so long as it's not found at the time. It's not like it was something that was just close to the line either, he said gay people should burn. It's about as extreme as homophobic statements can get. I think the FA have got it spot on.
My point being that HIAG never writes anything about Spurs that winds us up. His prediction stuff (or more specifically the aftermath) is nearly always on the PL board and not here. Even the Mouser Watch article has only caused us irritation once (2013-14) .
