The Fight Against Racism Lacks Punch

The Fight Against Racism Lacks Punch

During one of my frequent visits to one of the many websites dealing in transfer rumours and speculation (in my defence it’s the close season and I’m bored) I began to wonder, what was the most outlandish rumour that I’d come across during this, the silliest of silly seasons? A few came to mind, Eto’o to Spurs, Thiago Alcantara to Bolton, there are of course many, many more. However one rumour, through its sheer implausibility, stood out amongst all others. Emmanuel Adebayor was reported to be a transfer target for Russian giants Zenit St Petersburgh. On the face of it this is a move that would make sense, Zenit, backed by the Russian oil giant Gazprom, are one of the few clubs in Europe with the means to provide a financial package that would appeal to both the former Togolese captain and his current club, Manchester City. A spell at Zenit would also give Adebayor the chance to add to his medal collection, something the player has said is key to any future move. The reason this potential transfer is so unlikely though has nothing to do with football, the problem is the colour of Adebayors skin.

During Dick Advocaat’s successful spell in charge of Zenit he claimed that he would like to sign a black player but that it was not possible. The clubs most fanatical supporters (the Ultras) would not accept it. This group of supporters have a huge influence over the policies of their club, to a level beyond anything we have ever witnessed in this country. I should point out that Zenit say that Advocaats quotes were misrepresented and current manager Luciano Spalletti claims he is free to sign whomever he wishes, irrespective of race, meanwhile, the Zenit line-up remains exclusively white.

Awareness in this country, of the overt racism of many involved in Russian football, has increased recently, this can mainly be attributed to the reporting of a couple of high profile incidents. The move of the half Nigerian, half Russian striker Peter Odemwinge to West Brom, from Locomotive Moscow was celebrated by the Locomotive Ultras with a banner thanking the English club, accompanied by the image of a banana. Incidentally come the end of the season it was the baggies fans who had cause to thank their Locomotive counterparts, after a sparkling debut campaign from Odemwingie helped West Brom to the (relatively) dizzy heights of a mid-table finish. They say ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ and the look of incredulity, mixed with rage, on the face of the great Brazilian Roberto Carlos as he was racially abused for the second time during his stint at Anzhi Makhachkala, illustrates the horrifying nature of the racism problem which blights Russian football far more eloquently than the range of my vocabulary permits. The site of one of the most iconic footballers of his generation, an utter tank of a man, so visibly affected by the words and actions of these pathetic cowards is one of the most upsetting I have seen in football.

The Russian Football Union has handed out fines to some of those involved, it has also promised tougher sanctions for anyone found guilty of racially aggravated crimes. However a financial penalty of roughly £30,000 is of no real consequence to the oligarchs who provide the financial muscle of clubs such as Zenit. And the chances of these proposed further sanctions including something potentially effective, such as a points deduction are slim. Herein lies a large part of the problem when it comes to dealing with the racists, individual national associations, all throughout football, are unwilling to enforce the kind of punishments that would dissuade the continuation of such behaviour. The large clubs, in all countries, hold too much sway within the corridors of power of their respective associations. The ramifications of enforcing a level of punishment actually relative to the crime of racism are too great for any organisation that relies on the co-operation of its member clubs, for its day to day operations.  It’s much easier to hand out token fines, and release “plans of action”, which are in practical terms only one step up from attempting to sweep the problem under the carpet.

Logically as football fans we should look to our governing body to lead the fight against racism. FIFA, however say they are not willing to interfere with the disciplinary processes of national associations. This by the way is the same FIFA who are happy to interfere with a countries tax laws to suit their needs when they bring their World Cup roadshow swinging into town! Anyway would you trust FIFA to administer the appropriate sanctions? The £40,000 and £15,000 fines handed out to Spain and Croatia respectively, after racist abuse of English players suggests not. To entrust FIFA with a task as vital to the wellbeing of our game as eradicating racism, would be to desecrate the wonderful work (not to mention the personal sacrifice) of many individuals and institutions involved in this field over the years. FIFA claim to abhor racism, yet through their paltry fines and the awarding of the World Cup to Russia, without any genuine guarantees regarding the eradication of the racist behaviour already discussed, their words are not matched by their actions.

To my mind the only way to ensure the application of appropriate sanctions is the formation of an international body, independent of FIFA, with the remit of monitoring all forms of discriminatory behaviour in football, and the means to enforce a punishment they see fit. For example, if a clubs support is found guilty of racist chanting, this new body could then impose a fine on that club, equal to their average home gate receipt or a set percentage of their turnover/wage bill. This would ensure that the sanctions meted out are much closer to being equally punitive, regardless of the financial clout of the club. There would also be the option of closing stadiums, hefty points deductions and the ability to withdraw licenses required to take part in non-domestic competitions.

This is the level of punishment that I believe necessary to at least begin to eradicate the cancer of racism from our game. Only a truly independent body, made up of people with experience of the campaign against racism, and respected figures from the world of football, working without the limitations of national boundaries, can be trusted to impose these long overdue sanctions.

Racism is still a relevant problem in football, and unless we begin to think outside the box in terms of tackling it, we will be guilty of allowing this affliction to fester indefinitely, therefore doing irreparable damage to the game we all love so much.

Would really like your feedback on this. Do you think we can rid football of racism? Is the idea of an independent body workable? Leave a comment at the bottom of this page or get in contact via twitter, I’d love to hear from you. 

Follow @allymonc

Can Football Break its Gay Taboo?

Can football break its gay taboo?

In a previous article I discussed footballs role in breaking the stigma surrounding depression. The response to this was absolutely fantastic, with people from all walks of life contacting me through twitter to give me their opinions and share their experiences. It reinforced my genuine belief that football, despite its many ills, can still be a force for good and one of the most powerful tools we have in breaking down the barriers that are still prevalent in our society. During discussion of my article on twitter however, one issue continued to raise its head. Can the footballing world ever accept homosexuality?

In the 1970’s and 80’s racism was rife in British football. Players such as Viv Anderson, Cyrille Regis and Garth Crooks (amongst many, many others) were regularly subjected to torrents of vile abuse emanating from the terraces. Racism seemed to be ingrained in the psyche of a large percentage of the match going support. Fast forward to today though and huge progress has been made. I am not claiming for a minute that football has eradicated racism entirely, but imagine the reaction of the supporters you sit amongst if you tried to start a monkey chant at your next home game. I am of course writing this in the context of British football, recent events in Russia involving Peter Odemwinge and Roberto Carlos have shown that racism still thrives and may be on the rise in many footballing cultures. Racism became unacceptable in a society where it was previously the norm, will homophobia ever achieve the same level of revulsion that racism now attracts?

The reasons for the retreat of racism are many and varied, great credit must go to clubs, associations and charities who helped to educate people and alter their perceptions. Something that is often overlooked though is that the talent, commitment and ability of these black players eventually won over the fans. The colour of their skin became less and less relevant as players such as the aforementioned Regis wrote their name into club legend with their displays on the park.

Would supporters come to accept a gay player if he scored a hat-trick in the local derby, or cup final? I happen to genuinely believe they would. There is though one rather obvious problem with this theory, for there to be a ‘gay’ hat-trick hero there first of all must be a gay player. In this country we have had one openly gay professional footballer, Justin Fashanu could not even rely on the support of his brother John (also a professional footballer) and tragically committed suicide eight years after announcing he was gay. The rampant homophobia of certain fans can be illustrated by the horrifying ditty ‘he’s gay, he’s dead, he’s hanging in a shed, Fashanu, Fashanu’ still occasionally heard when Ipswich visit Fashanu’s old team Norwich.  John Fashanu has since expressed his regret about the way he dealt with the situation, it should not have taken the suicide of his sibling for him to come to realise that he was in the wrong.

We do have some evidence that there are gay players currently plying their trade at the top level of British football. The publicist Max Clifford has claimed he advised two Premier League stars to keep their sexuality a secret. These individuals should of course be able to be open about their sexuality just as they would in any civilised society, however it is hard to argue with Clifford when he claims that football is “in the dark ages” and “steeped in homophobia”. Whatever you think of Max Clifford he has made a career of judging how the general public will react when confronted with a front page splash, and then spinning that story to the benefit of whoever is signing his cheque that week (I do not think much of Mr Clifford as you may be able to tell!). And he has effectively judged the story of a gay footballer as “unspinnable”.

The name Anton Hysen may not mean anything to the majority of you, but recently he has become the only openly gay player in world football. By all accounts the reaction amongst players and fans to his ‘coming out’ has been if not wholly positive then at least not wholly negative either. No disrespect to the young Swede but he does not have the footballing ability to become the poster boy that gay football requires, he will never score in the Champions League or in a World Cup, he does not have the talent to break down footballs last remaining prejudice. However, Hysen who plays in the Swedish fourth tier, does have a higher profile than would normally be afforded a player of similar ability. His father Glenn is a former Swedish international and previously plied his trade at Liverpool, his brother Tobias has also played for the national side, in short he is part of a Swedish footballing dynasty. The fact he is a Hysen has not only raised his profile but has to some extent made the fact he is a gay footballer more acceptable. Hysen has no intention of becoming the face of gay football and of course he should be under no obligation to do so, he is after all just a normal young man looking to go about his life the same as everyone else. I genuinely hope, and to an extent believe, the case of Anton Hysen is a small step in the right direction. I am however aware that I may be being overly optimistic.

There have been a few positive signs from the wider sporting world. The most obvious of these being the ex Wales rugby captain Gareth Thomas, whose announcement that he was gay has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response. His status as a national hero was already cemented, his sexuality has not diminished his fine achievements on the pitch and he has largely been supported in his decision to come out (the Independent newspaper put him joint first in its annual pink list). Unfortunately the thought that despite its macho image, the average rugby supporter is a more tolerant beast than their equivalent football fan remains a relevant one.

It does seem doubtful that we will see a player appear in both World Soccer and Attitude in the near future. It’s not just the level of abuse that would inevitably rain down from supporters on matchdays but maybe more crucially the lack of support from their peers. The Fashanu tragedy may have played out in the 90s but have attitudes really changed since then? The excellent secret footballer column in the Guardian and the player column in 442 magazine have laid bare the ruthlessness that can exist in a Premier League dressing room, especially with regards to sex. It is not an environment that encourages tolerance and understanding. The English FA attempted to produce an anti-homophobia video but was unable to find anyone from the footballing world to front it. The fear of ostracism was too great.

Football needs one brave individual to stand up, someone whose talent will be more noteworthy than their sexual preference, someone whose value to the team was so great that it overcame the homophobia of his team-mates.  That is surely the only way the most ingrained of all prejudices can begin to be eroded, education can play its part but on its own is not enough. In a world where players have been the victims of homophobic abuse because they have admitted to reading the Guardian or occasionally attending the theatre, that individual would need to be prepared to sacrifice his quality of life for the greater good of a society that would offer him no thanks in return.

Incidentally if that player is out there and holds any ambition to represent his nation in the World Cup he’d better hide his sexuality until after 2022, as FIFA have decided the best place to hold footballs showpiece event in that year is Qatar, a country where homosexuality is illegal. Well done FIFA.

This is without doubt an incredibly complex issue with no obvious solution and no easy answers, but it is an issue that for the good of the game needs to be properly debated. I would really appreciate any comments you may have, either on here or via my twitter account which you can access from the about the author section of this site. Thanks.

Follow @allymonc

Football and the Fight Against Depression

Depression and Football

Depression amongst sportsmen has been a topic of some debate recently. The case of the England cricketer Michael Yardy who had to return home from the Cricket World Cup because of his depression brought the issue to the fore. Unfortunately the reaction of Geoffrey Boycott (who joked that Yardy’s depression may be as a result of his below par bowling performance) showed that there is still a real ignorance in the world of sport toward a very serious, and increasingly common problem.

There are a number of professional footballers who have admitted to suffering from depression in some form or another throughout their careers. The most high profile of these cases was of course the tragic suicide of German international Robert Enke. Top level players such as Neil Lennon and Stan Collymore have also spoken about their battles with depression. Despite these players being well known and highly visible their “revelations” have not sparked any meaningful re-action from the footballing community.

Depression in the macho world of football is still a taboo subject. The general opinion seems to run along the same lines as that of the misguided Boycott, that depression is something you can just shake off with a few good performances or a team bonding session down the pub. When the culture of bravado that surrounds football is ingrained in you, it must be incredibly difficult to admit that you are in the grip of an overwhelming and all-consuming illness. When that admission is then treated as a weakness and very probably dismissed, it makes it all the harder to speak up.

Attitudes in football must change, and admittedly there has been some progress in England’s lower leagues, with all players being issued with information regarding depression. This of course is to be welcomed, but football clubs and the footballing authorities can, and should go further.

Football is in the unique position of being a social reference point for many of the people who are considered the most vulnerable to depression. As the effects of the recession continue to reverberate around the country, young men from working class backgrounds are increasingly likely to suffer from depression. They are also the least likely to seek help, the consequence being, that they are also the most likely to take their own lives. This socio-economic group has been the traditional supplier of footballs players and supporters and I believe football has a moral duty to help them.

One of the most valuable things that football can do is break the stigma surrounding depression. It is still seen as something that only happens to people who are down on their luck, people who have nothing going for them, however Lennon and Collymore were highly regarded, well paid Premier League players and Robert Enke was going to the World Cup to represent Germany. Anyone, at any time can be affected.

Depression is at its most destructive when it is ignored and allowed to fester. People who suffer from depression need professional help, they cannot just “pull themselves together”. Football needs to encourage a frank discussion of the facts surrounding what is a very serious illness. Whether we think they are suitable or not, footballers are role models for many young people, if high profile footballing personalities are prepared to talk openly about depression without fear of reprisal then the subject becomes normalised in the minds of the general public. This can only help those affected to seek help instead of attempting to suppress and in many cases ignore this damaging affliction.

Depression at its more advanced stages leaves the sufferer in no doubt as to its presence. However in its infancy it can easily be missed or disregarded, there is an ignorance amongst many (especially young men) as to the symptoms of depression. This is where the footballing community (clubs and associations) can step in and use their positions of influence, to educate the people that enable and justify their existence.

Depression is measurably easier to treat and manage if it is recognised before it reaches its all-consuming stage. If clubs at all levels were encouraged to talk to their players from youth to first team, if associations and clubs could combine to reach out to the masses and explain the early signs and triggers of depression then what a difference that could make.

Education about all aspects of health, physical and mental should be at the core of football. There is a real chance for football to re-assert itself as a force for social wellbeing and tolerance within its support structure, many of our greatest clubs were in fact formed with these grand ideals at their heart. With all the negativity that currently surrounds football and footballers now can be the time for a return to those ideals.

Ignorance, a lack of dialogue and therefore the stigma surrounding it, are the factors that more than any other, allow depression to fester and subsequently ruin lives. Football is in a unique position where it can address all these factors. This is a chance that cannot be missed. Football has a moral obligation to help those who have allowed it to grow, from its humble roots, to the global behemoth it has become.

Follow @allymonc