Well of course I'd take my phone and message you in Beefys off Topic thread, from across the table. I mean, we wouldn't actually want to talk!
The police beng involved doesn't imply guilt...just means someone has complained. I wouldn't believe a Chelsea player if he said the earth circled the sun...is that teamist?
Thankful to see this sensible post + the one above by Terry Paine ( we could do with him in his prime right now ! ) regarding the current bout of hysteria in English football.
I own up, I am that useless Guardian reading sod. I also spent 7 years working building sites in the sixties/early seventies before 35 years 'service' in the NHS. So I have worked in the real world of 'macho dominated' and the equally real world of the 'public sector'.. you know saving lives and that sort of thing. And blow me I have those leftie tendencies in that I believe the world would be a better, more peaceful place if issues such as equality were promoted. It seems to me IF Mr Clattenburg, in whom there is invested power, has racially abused a player then he should be judged by the institution that invested him with that power and promotes values of equality as part it's remit. If found guilty, it would seem to me to be a serious abuse of that power and the consequences should match the serious nature of the abuse. To expand the point, the problem seems to me to be that professional football is played in a macho environment wherein it would have probably been 'alright' for John Terry to call Ferdinand a f......g c..t but not a f..... b....k c..t. Now it might be that the second is worse than the first but it seems the FA would condone the first as long as it is aimed at a fellow player. However, if it had been aimed at the referee then he would have probably ended up with 3 match ban instead of the 4 he got. Hints of a double standard? Referees police the game and as such deserve the protection of the system, but they have to be seen to work within the rules of that system. If they choose to break those rules then the penalty should be severe.
On a lighter note, I had a black friend in the seventies (when racism was more common and out in the open) who returned from a 2 month stint in Scotland. I asked him how it went and he laughed, 'Great..up there I was an English bastard.'
Isit just me or does this thread suggest alot of you take racism too lightly. This thread has gone off topic, it was ment to be about a guy that has been accused of abusing his power. A guy that has been accused of saying the things we are trying to stamp out of football. Not going on about what you do at work etc. For me if he is found guilty he should be sacked, as should any other person involved in football found guilty of racism.
Why do we all assume it's "Spanish twat"? It could be an all-round friendlier - but still racist - "Spanish twit"?
I was going to make the same point - why wouldn't a player report Clattenburg if he had simply called them a "twat"? That in itself is out of order to me. Not because it's hurtful and blah blah, but because a referee is in a position of authority to a player, and should really act in a professional manner under all circumstances; just like a player should probably be sent off for calling a referee a twat. If a policeman, or a teacher I didn't like (when I was at school), or anyone in a position of authority and who I am bound to by certain expectations of behaviour called me a name, I would certainly report them - even if I might not be offended. Part of the relationship of one-up-manship we "enjoy" with these people. And the players undoubtedly did not like Clattenburg that day. My thoughts are that - with the influx of foreign players in the Premiership, Clattenburg would not have got very far in his career - certainly not to where he now is - if he was inclined to utter casual racist slurs all over the pitch. Why, with all his experience, would he do it now? My thoughts favouring him are that either he was misheard, or that Mikel saw a window of opportunity to get back at him for sending two foreign players off. My thoughts against him are that maybe this is commonplace behaviour by refs, and is one of those things that they just got away with (similar to the massive amounts of casual racism that goes on amongst players, and which I have been hearing about Terry for years), but on which the tide has now turned on, and for which Chelsea are the first club to make it public, due to their own grievances in related matters.
I just think it's far more likely Clattenburg let his guard down and said something regrettable in the heat of the moment, rather like John Terry did, than it is that Chelsea would fabricate these allegations, especially considering the spotlight on them for very similar offences. I look forward to the conclusion of the investigation anyway because whoever is on the wrong side of the facts needs to be severely reprimanded. Really severely. Whoever is right this incident reflects worse on the participants than even the Terry incident. As saintnograeavsie correctly points out, the referee is in a position of authority over the players and as such has to be above reproach in much the same way a policeman would have to be if he was to interact with one of us. Similarly if Clattenburg is innocent and the Chelsea players have fabricated an allegation like this then they should get big fines and big bans because it is not ok to undermine referees in this way. Now the police are involved again I expect this will drag on again though...
According to a few papers a Chelsea player said "i'm going to ****ing break your legs" to Clattenburg. This is making English football look worse and worse.
Fair enough. I haven't been a social worker in the statutory sense. I have however worked for large charities and re-housed ex homeless youths from hostels to more settled accomodation. I don't generally get a bee in my bonnet about these things, but I do feel that social workers get used as a scapegoat at times. It's totally fine for people to want to do certain jobs without a fear of not contributing to the economy lashing at their heals. I feel that people in Education, healthcare, artists, and those that work with people on the fringes of society contribute to society. Not everyone will agree obviously.
So it has been claimed Clattenburg called Mikel a monkey, what do you think if true?. Or should we just say words can't hurt you and move on?.
Would need the context really. He could have said "I couldn't give a monkey's" which would not have been racist but you can see how Mikel might have taken it the wrong way. If he said it intentionally then it's obviously sufficient to attract punishment.
Reckon he could have said that to anyone - I have called people a monkey before. Just unfortunate it happened to be to a black player, on a team who are hellbent on kicking up a storm when it comes to racism, and who were on the wrong side of some questionable refereeing decisions.
Seems strange that his would only come out two days after the match. Also Chelsea have not even decided whether to complain to the FA, but someone who wasn't there, and doesn't actually care about football, has complained to the Met. It's all a bit murky.
