Jump to content
IGNORED

The absolute state of Italian football


redsince1994

Recommended Posts

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49576840

A group of Inter Milan fans claim Cagliari supporters were showing Romelu Lukaku a form of "respect" when they aimed monkey chants at him on Sunday.

Lukaku, who moved from Manchester United to Inter in the summer, was subjected to the racist abuse after scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory.

A statement from Inter fan group Curva Nord said "Italian fans are not racist" and the abuse was gamesmanship.

It added: "We are sorry you thought what happened in Cagliari was racist."

The open letter to the Belgian forward, published on the fans' Facebook page, also said: "You have to understand that Italy is not like many other north European countries where racism is a real problem.

"We understand that it could have seemed racist to you but it is not like that. In Italy we use some 'ways' only to 'help our teams' and to try to make our opponents nervous, not for racism but to mess them up.

"Please consider this attitude of Italian fans as a form of respect for the fact they are afraid of you for the goals you might score against their teams and not because they hate you or they are racist."

Lukaku, who said the game is "going backwards" in the wake of the abuse, stood and stared at fans behind the goal - where the chants had originated from - after scoring the winning goal.

Inter defender Milan Skriniar - who was seen putting his fingers to his lips to the Cagliari fans - in support of his team-mate condemned the fans' actions in a post-match interview.

The abuse received by Lukaku was the latest incident in which a black player has been racially abused on the pitch by Cagliari fans.

In a statement, Cagliari said it intends to "identify, isolate and ban those ignorant individuals whose shameful actions and behaviours are completely against those values that Cagliari Calcio strongly promotes in all their initiatives".

 

And this is the Inter fans saying this!

Managing to be racist, arrogant and patronising all at the same time.

The two quotes I have put in bold would literally be red flags for an abusive relationship!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Inter fans effectively condoning it is very worrying. Cagliari fans are some of the worst offenders.

2017 - Muntari - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39786264

2018 - Matuidi - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42595501

2019 - Kean - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47793676

Now Lukaku. Wonder if Serie A will do anything about it though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Carey 6 said:

Inter fans effectively condoning it is very worrying. Cagliari fans are some of the worst offenders.

2017 - Muntari - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39786264

2018 - Matuidi - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42595501

2019 - Kean - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47793676

Now Lukaku. Wonder if Serie A will do anything about it though. 

Pretty sure the Italian FA have already come out in saying they're going to ignore it. They apparently "condemned" it but a fat lot of good that will do if they're not prepared to take any sort of action.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In this country we still have a lot to do but are slowly making inroads. Some countries abroad are light years behind in their way of thinking. On the terraces but more worrying of the terraces. If the powers at the top don’t condemn it publicly they have no hope. Tougher punishments need to be implemented across football. Starting with social media 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sadly , there is a rise in ‘ Nationalism ‘ all over the world ,even in England.

The human race is going to Hell in a handcart. 

We have learned nothing from history and for all our intelligence we have not made this world a better place. 

The visions offered by Gandhi , Mandela and Jesus lie sullied in the gutter whilst dictators march all over the planet slowly sucking the life out of it .

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Shocking. I remember the Kean one in particular- fairly sure some Juventus official said it was 50/50??

Fairly sure Italian FA/Serie A have taken action against Cagliari before but I stand to be corrected.

I know they made Inter play a game behind closed doors and a game with the Curva shut at the start of 2019.

It was Bonucci, the captain.

There's only one person in Italian football who could actually change it, Ronaldo. 

If he piped up about it then Serie A would surely have to do something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Shtanley said:

It was Bonucci, the captain.

There's only one person in Italian football who could actually change it, Ronaldo. 

If he piped up about it then Serie A would surely have to do something.

That's the one!

For some reason Cagliari seem to get away with it. Koulibaly racial abuse- Inter had to play Benevento in the Cup behind closed doors and Sassuolo in the League though it says some kids were allowed in as per some compromise in the 2nd.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Shocking. I remember the Kean one in particular- fairly sure some Juventus official said it was 50/50??

Fairly sure Italian FA/Serie A have taken action against Cagliari before but I stand to be corrected.

I know they made Inter play a game behind closed doors and a game with the Curva shut at the start of 2019.

Juve captain Bonucci did, said it was 50/50 as to where the blame lies 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Sadly , there is a rise in ‘ Nationalism ‘ all over the world ,even in England.

The human race is going to Hell in a handcart. 

We have learned nothing from history and for all our intelligence we have not made this world a better place. 

The visions offered by Gandhi , Mandela and Jesus lie sullied in the gutter whilst dictators march all over the planet slowly sucking the life out of it .

 

Ghandi would have been more than happy with monkey noises at Lukaku. Much of his work was based on separating Africans and Indians.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Sadly , there is a rise in ‘ Nationalism ‘ all over the world ,even in England.

The human race is going to Hell in a handcart. 

We have learned nothing from history and for all our intelligence we have not made this world a better place. 

The visions offered by Gandhi , Mandela and Jesus lie sullied in the gutter whilst dictators march all over the planet slowly sucking the life out of it .

 

Some people mistake nationalism for patriotism,which it certainly isn’t.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Sadly , there is a rise in ‘ Nationalism ‘ all over the world ,even in England.

The human race is going to Hell in a handcart. 

We have learned nothing from history and for all our intelligence we have not made this world a better place. 

The visions offered by Gandhi , Mandela and Jesus lie sullied in the gutter whilst dictators march all over the planet slowly sucking the life out of it .

 

Racism and nationalism are two completely separate things. Please, do not misconstrue this.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, redsince1994 said:

Ghandi would have been more than happy with monkey noises at Lukaku. Much of his work was based on separating Africans and Indians.

What nonsense.

His well documented use of derogatory names  applied to the criminals he encountered when locked up with them in prison in South Africa .

It must also be put into the context of the time that he lived in . 

His work was all about justice for all and  peaceful resistance to inequality.

He was the first to admit that he was no saint but I really can’t imagine The Mahatma chanting monkey noises at a black footballer in série A . 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, STeveOELlis said:

Racism and nationalism are two completely separate things. Please, do not misconstrue this.  

America first , **** the rest of you . Is that not Nationalism and racism ? 

Prejudice against anyone who is not American  ? 

Nationalism is just racism on a global scale not simply restricted to any one particular race .

That’s how I see it .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

America first , **** the rest of you . Is that not Nationalism and racism ? 

Prejudice against anyone who is not American  ? 

Nationalism is just racism on a global scale not simply restricted to any one particular race .

That’s how I see it .

Anyone can rewrite their own definitions. Nationalism and racism are two separate things.

Anyway major, your original point is moot and irrelevant as Italian football has been this way for decades. Racism within Italian football is not on the rise, it has decreased, a lot.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, STeveOELlis said:

Anyone can rewrite their own definitions. Nationalism and racism are two separate things.

Anyway major, your original point is moot and irrelevant as Italian football has been this way for decades. Racism within Italian football is not on the rise, it has decreased, a lot.  

Putting racism aside for a minute, there are many different types of nationalism. Some of it them are benign and some of it certainly not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Unan said:

It’s in our genes to protect ourselves from outsiders, survival instinct, we can condemn it but it’ll never truly go away. Not for a few million years or until some Silicon Valley founder cracks gene manipulation anyway.

You make a good point .

However , ‘ outsiders ‘ are only ‘ outsiders ‘ until they’re on the inside .

Once you recognise the individual in front of you and know their customs and habits the ‘ danger ‘ of the unknown is reduced.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

You make a good point .

However , ‘ outsiders ‘ are only ‘ outsiders ‘ until they’re on the inside .

Once you recognise the individual in front of you and know their customs and habits the ‘ danger ‘ of the unknown is reduced.

 

Never knew you were so profound Major!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

You make a good point .

However , ‘ outsiders ‘ are only ‘ outsiders ‘ until they’re on the inside .

Once you recognise the individual in front of you and know their customs and habits the ‘ danger ‘ of the unknown is reduced.

 

As far as I’m aware, we’re only capable of having up to roughly 100 ‘insiders’, when tribes grew above that rough threshold they’d split and become 2 groups, making more outsiders.

It’s the same reason we can only remember so many names & why we lack sympathy for people in horrible situations around the world.  We are only designed to protect our immediate group.

Of course, all technically theoretically as the human brain isn’t even close to being solved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, reddogkev said:

Racism will always exist I'm afraid, for some terrible reason, there is a deep-rooted human trait to hate those that are different.  Thankfully, only a small percentage of people have this deplorable trait, otherwise the world would be a war zone.

 

 

Not been in the Middle East recently then?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those who call nationalism racist are the same who would have Union Jacks banned in public for being 'offensive' to non-British people. Total BS. As said, do not confuse national pride, which is a thing, with nationalism, which is another thing, and racism which is yet another thing.

But of course there are those who call it all the same thing.  And it is these who often decide what is 'offensive' for everyone else.

Monkey-chanting is hideous. End of. But that said, the Inter statement requires some context. I somewhat understand where they're coming from. However they really should understand by now that their monkey-chanting supporters, even if they don't mean any racial offence, are nevertheless offensive to the person they're targeting. A sign of respect? Ridiculous. They don't seem to get that.

However, the reason I said 'I somewhat understand where they're coming from' is for this reason: 

How many people here, deploring and condemning this vile chant as I do, as we all do, did it themselves back in the 70s/80s?? Maybe a few actually did. Not calling anyone out at all, but it's worth thinking about. Because there was a time when yeh, the east end would erupt with monkey chants when a black player got the ball. It happened nationwide, across the leagues, stadium to stadium, every saturday without exception. Was it actual racial abuse, in the minds of each supporter doing it, in each and every case?

Here's an anecdote, which is what prompted me to write this post. I once took a black friend of mine, a West Ham supporter, to the derby versus the Rovers. He just wanted to come along and experience it. In that game, Rovers fielded a black player, let's say Devon White, don't recall who. Whenever he got the ball, particularly when shooting towards the east end - monkey-chants erupted in the east end. And guess what. My black friend joined in.  I nudged him and said, What the **** are you doing? He shrugged and replied, Trying to put him off aren't I?

Yes that really happened, and I felt very embarrassed by it. Personally I never did the monkey-chant, ever, and I was flummoxed that my black pal joined in.

Why? How?

Afterwards, we both put it down to a kind of 'mob rule'. It suggests that when a certain number start, more automatically join in. I think my black pal just wanted to 'fit in' with the crowd. Maybe he felt singled out as one black face among so many white, and wanted to look like and feel like one of the boys. An interesting take, isn't it? Because although this chant is taken as deeply racist, he didn't actually mean it as racist. I mean, how the hell could he, he's black himself! It would probably never happen today from a black spectator, not when everyone is being watched and judged for everything they do. Remember those were different days back then. A different consciousness existed. No social media, no repercussions, and nobody really cared what you did.

Back in those days, I'd suspect that a decent majority of the east end weren't racist either. Mob rule is/was thing, and played a big role in this. The supporters who did join in probably wouldn't monkey-chant a black person in the street for example! It’s purely an aspect of human behaviour when observed across large, complex systems. Riots work the same way. Thankfully in football the mob grew up. Evidently it's yet to do so in Italian football. But we should remember that in this light, the statement from Inter contains at least some validity – there ARE other facets to this phenomenon beyond just racism.

Racism in football is different now. It isn't the mob anymore in the UK, it's coming from a small albeit hateful minority. Which makes it more sinister. It's likely to be genuine racism in this case. But despite what the sensation-driven mainstream media gobshites say, it isn't at epidemic proportions though. A few twitter tw_a_ts are nothing compared to the tides of chanting, calling, swearing that filled the terraces and grandstands of yesteryear. Racism of course has by no means been eradicated from football in the UK. Not at all. But it's a LOT better than it was.

Whatever the case, and sorry for the long-windedness, monkey-chanting must be stamped out. Whatever skewed human psychology is behind it, whether that is racist or not, monkey-chanting is received by the players as a racist slur, always - and their feelings are paramount. It's time for Italian football to get it's house in order.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Luckily Curva Nord is not representative of Inter's fanbase: they have their own code, like other Curve, and doing some ''chants'' is normal for some of their members.

That being said, the problem about racism is social & educational...and unfortunately many people - in Italy and elsewhere - have these medieval ideas. There are many dark aspetcs in Italian football, but this one IMO has little to do with it, and I guess that introducing stricter rules would not change things: it could damage the club, ban more guilty supporters, but sadly there will be other episodes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...