Cod Almighty | Article

by Andy Atkins

9 September 2003

The establishment strikes again. Not a week on from England's game in Macedonia and all that is great and good in the world of English football has donned a sincere face and, quite rightly, condemned the racist abuse meted out to some of England's black players during the recent game in Skopje.

John Motson heard something he didn't want to that night; David Beckham thought that sort of thing had died out; and Alan Green has offered to point out some of the Macedonia fans who burnt the St George cross during the singing of God Save The Queen. Frankly, I'd like to see that at every game, but from England fans, and preferably at the same time as it's being decided which of the royal family's heads we're going to be using as a ball, but that's another story...

And so UEFA, in its infinite wisdom, will fine the Macedonian FA, who are probably skint anyway - Macedonian teams aren't exactly pissing the Champions League every year, and when was the last time that the World Cup was held in eastern Europe? Hmmm...and does a fine actually solve the problem of racism? Even banning racists from football grounds - whether they be from Skopje or Skegness - is not going to solve what is essentially a social problem.

Sure, it overlaps into football, but it's like saying that drunken behaviour in city centres is the problem of beermat manufacturers. There is a total misunderstanding of racism here is shocking - from Tony Blair (who I shouldn't think is bothered anyway - it keeps up the pressure on refugees) down (or should that be up?) to David Beckham.

Official anti-racism, or 'auto' anti-racism - the kind peddled by Motson, the BBC, Beckham et al - can only prolong the suffering of black and ethnic players. Simply saying: "Ooh, it's a terrible thing - I thought it'd died out" isn't going to stop anything; it simply sweeps the problem under the carpet. Of course it's a terrible thing, but before you can solve a problem, surely you have to understand its root causes...

Just as the link between crime and poverty seems to have been lost under a hundredweight of draconian legislation designed to keep those who offend - in the majority, the poor and unemployed - in the gutter, so the causes of racism seem shrouded in the mists of time.

Let's look at the situation abroad. As was so ignorantly pointed out on Saturday evening, the problem seems to be getting worse "in these sorts of countries". Yes, racism is worse in eastern Europe - but why? Because the people there have suddenly decided they don't like black players? Hard to believe - one of the Macedonian substitutes was born in Brazil, and eastern Europe is one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the world. So what is to blame?

Here's my theory. You may think this is just some kind of bizarre coincidence, but since the capitalist west has moved in to sweep up the cheap labour available since the downfall of the former Eastern Bloc, racism across this region has been rife. Under communist rule, there had been years and years of an anti-racist ideology, and a celebration of internationalism.

Now don't get me wrong - there was probably more wrong than right with the warped version of socialism in operation in the Eastern Bloc, but when did you ever hear players complaining of racist chanting when they played in "these sorts of countries" pre-1990?

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the vultures have moved in; and while the rich get richer, the vast majority of those who haven't the money to try and seek their fortune in the West are left doing menial work for a pittance. And with the massive shift of humanity across Europe at present comes a fear of outsiders. Neo-fascism is on the rise in a big way in Russia and its various ex-satellites. And its quarry is the poor.

And back to England, where the BNP has just this past week won another council seat. Again, the forces of the far right target those who are scared or being 'invaded' or 'swamped' by asylum seekers. Do they include a few racist chants in their leaflets? Of course, many BNP supporters may well go to the footy every Saturday to berate the "black bastard" or rattle on about some city being "a town full of Pakis" - but do they stop thinking the same way the moment they leave the ground? I very much doubt it.

So what has all of this got to do with football, implicitly? Bugger all. And that's exactly my point. Does football turn a person into a racist? No, it doesn't, does it? I could stomach Beckham, Motson, Lineker and the rest looking all sad and sincere if they actually did anything about racism, or at least tried to educate the young people who look up them (well, not many youngsters look up to Motson I guess, but you know what I mean).

And instead of fining a skint, tiny FA in eastern Europe (oh, sorry - the Department of Trade and Industry likes us to call this "central Europe" now - after all, which western business wants to be seen to be exploiting commies?), why not put pressure on the Macedonian government to introduce some kind of anti-racist education? Because, quite frankly, the authorities don't give a toss about players at any level being subjected to racial abuse. Football is a brand, ready to be sold, and their concern is simply that its image is not tarnished by a few idiots making monkey chants.

By their own logic, if racism in grounds is football's fault, then football should take a lead in stamping it out. Not just for one week a year - what is the point in that? After all, anti-racism is not a tag to be picked up and put down again.

Gobshites like Trevor Brooking should shut up about how terrible racism is, when for one thing he's not gonna do anything about changing people's attitudes, and secondly, he has a little giggle to himself when he can't pronounce the name of the Nigerian goalie.

These people, UEFA and the lot of them, are as guilty of allowing the rise of racism within football as the brain-dead sods who racially abuse a black or Asian player from the terraces every weekend. Condemnation without action changes nothing, now, does it?