What on earth is going on? Are we stuck in a time warp? I can’t believe that in 2011, before the season has reached it’s halfway point, the three premier football competitions in the country have had a collective four incidents where players have been racially vilified.
Appalling. Disgusting. Disgraceful.
As a football fan who buys his membership every year and goes to between 15 and 20 games, I am embarrassed to be tarred with the same brush as the ignorant dinosaurs that for some bizarre reason, think that it is okay and acceptable to abuse players based on the colour of his skin, or the country he was born in, or the race of his parents. It doesn’t matter.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the passion of the football fan. The way football gets our blood flowing and our lungs screaming. But scream for your team. Scream against the other team too if you need. But there are millions of things yelled out by the tens of thousands of supporters at every match.
Some funny, some not.
But there is a line that not only shouldn’t be crossed, nobody should go anywhere near that line. Yell out to a player that they don’t have a left foot, or that they made the wrong decision. Yell out to the umpire that he needs glasses. But do not, ever, abuse a player based on their race. Or their religion.
Or their mental health. Or for that matter their sexuality.
Football is yet to have a player out themselves as gay, even though the ratio of homosexuals to heterosexuals worldwide says that there surely has been one. Probably many more.
But is it any wonder no player has felt comfortable enough to do so? As a football community, there are still some amongst us that think that it’s ok to scream abuse at a player because of his skin colour.
In a matter of weeks, it has been revealed that Lance Franklin (AFL), Daniel Motlop and Danyle Pearce (SANFL) have been racially abused from over the fence. On Saturday, on the VFL match of the day, North Melbourne rookie Majak Daw was also abused based on his heritage and the colour of his skin.
Most concerning, was that the abuse went on for a whole quarter before this imbecile was removed. He should be banned for life. And how the people around him allowed it to go on for a whole quarter is also very disappointing.
The fact that a young kid who came to Australia after leaving his country of origin, without knowing a word of English, got himself an education and passed his VCE, and then learnt our game, and with his natural athletic ability, landed a contract with one of (then) 16 AFL clubs is a phenomenal story.
I was at a Werribee match a couple of weeks ago, when Daw took a screamer on the boundary about 45m out from goal, then went back and after the three-quarter time siren slotted the goal.
The roar from the small crowd was 10 times that of any other cheer for the whole day. This kid should be celebrated and supported. I hope he doesn’t think that all football fans are like that fool at Port Melbourne yesterday.
Aboriginal players have been a fixture of our game for many years, and some of the very best players our game has ever seen are of Aboriginal heritage: Polly Farmer. Maurice Rioli. Michael Long. Adam Goodes. Lance Franklin. Andrew McLeod. Gavin Wanganeen. Brownlow, Norm Smith and Coleman Medallists.
In recent years our game has started to expand with more and more internationally born players. Fijian-born Nic Naitanui is an absolutely exceptional talent, he is the ability to completely change the game. Mal Michael was born in Papua New Guinea and he won three premierships and was a member of the AFL Queensland Team of the Century.
As football fans, we should be counting ourselves as lucky and privileged to watch these talented players. Players who take our breath away. Players who play in teams that win premierships for the clubs we love.
Thank God that the time of racism on the field is a thing of the past. I can only hope that even though it is such a small minority of fans that are guilty of this rubbish, that those who hold these prehistoric views can stay home.
Please, we do not want you.
Onlooker
Guest
Huh??
Bondy
Guest
Onlooker . You've come onto a sports forum to discuss issues about distasteful conduct at a sporting event where in which you didn't attend nor watch on the box . And it appears you've taken every word by the Tabloid media as Gospel . Interesting . Footnote, The Victorian Police are frightened to go to A League games in Melbourne as reported in the press, which is peculiar because nobody attends . I'll work it out one day . Good Luck mate.
Onlooker
Guest
Bondy - No, I didn't watch the soccer, nor did I actually see during the coverage of the Gld Cst v Geelong game the other banner. I just thought it ironic that a hullabulloo (in the Melb press at any rate) was made over both banners - one a tongue in cheek non PC one and the other a very offensive and politically charged and racially charged banner. and ask myself what really?? I have absolutely no idea what you're on about?? but you seem to have painted for yourself some form of mental picture that makes you happy - - and if you're content with that then I'm glad for you. Confused. But glad for you.
Bondy
Guest
Onlooker . You must have gone to the Football last night i didn't see those nasty nasty banners from where i was watching in Sydney on Fox's sports coverage. But really looking at your posting you've expressed concerns about racial abuse and other issues in relation to A.F.L. over the last week . But ask yourself this, did you watch the Socceroos and then feel safe in the knowledge that your preferred sport of choice is not as supposedly racially or ethnically bad as the Football you witnessed last night , if you watched that game last night to bolster your confidence that potentially other people can act just as bad at an event then i feel sorry for you.
Onlooker
Guest
where does Racism start and nationalism end?? Noting that there was a bit of a storm in a teacup last week over a banner at Metricon Stadium that channel 10 showed (and Herald Sun published) that went along the lines of a bloke offering his wife to star Geelong player. This was bad. Very bad accoridng to some. However, at the soccer last night, there were some very, very distasteful banners displayed for a period of time urging death to the present Serbian leader and urging freedom for a recently captured 'gentleman' accused of war crimes (I'm not naming names deliberately). While these banners weren't directed as verbal abuse of any single player - they were very disappointing to see. It says as much about an attitude of the individual that shows disrespect to the event at which they are at, it disrespects the participants on the ground and in this case, who knows how greatly offended any of the Serbian players in particular may have been. PC or not, it does make the Metricon stadium banner seem very trivial.
Roarchild
Guest
Read midfielders post again RedB. Didn't sound like he's having a go at AFL to me. Racism is like Sports Gambling, it's a shared problem that transcends the shape of the ball. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Bondy
Guest
Redb. I too am a football man, Midfielder is a decent bloke on this website unlike myself . Im an " Ultra " here.
Midfielder
Guest
Redb How so ... not trying to envoke a code war ... in any way ... It talked in positive way about three folks one an AFL player who got a hard time at one club and was accepted at another... saying all people are not the same and there has always been good people... Then comparing treatment of mainstream media protrials to the treatment that he got as football person... .... were is the code war its talks about main stream media and follows on from were the AFL guy also tho sport got accepted... The article says that RL & AFL do a lot more to quote """“A few Aborigines, far less than in rugby league an Australian rules, have played soccer at an elite level.""" like explain how this is a code war... So be darned someone has tried to add to the debate and added the word soccer and mentioned some experiences and that is IYO a code war... As I said ... the writer praised AFL & RL over Football for heavens sake ... and compared mainstream media acceptance to his experience in football... never once mentioning either AFL or RL in any kind of negative sense...
Redb
Roar Guru
this has nothing to do with McGuire. It has everything to do with soccer's post above - look at me look at me trying to make out it's all lovely in soccer, but Aussie Rules stay away blah blah. The issue is racism by one or two idiots at the football. Its about Majak Daw, Buddy Franklin, its not acceptable.
punter
Guest
Pretty low comment from an AFL personality, but then what do you expect from the AFL media.
Onlooker
Guest
what? the one that 'kicked off' this week? Isn't is a bit overdue?? (note - I'm mostly joking!!!) btw- remember, Eddie likes his soccer and is a big Celtics man ('cos of his old man).
Aka
Guest
And what else would you expect from Eddie talking about racism in the AFL on Triple M 'Do we want to have a free-for-all and it builds up and we get racial and (encourage) intolerance and hatred like we see in the soccer?' encouraging intolerance? Is he not aware of the FFV's United through Football program?
Bondy
Guest
Nobody condones racial vilification in any sport let alone aussie rules, but why are so many here beating themselves up about probably the odd one or two idiots, those types of people attend every sporting event and and i would suggest unitentionally due to their mentality bring disrepute to a sport . It's an unfortunate element to life / sport that we have to deal with and accept, the odd goose is going to try to wreck it for a majority. If you can find these people ban them ,it would be near impossible to find them in a crowd of 70,000 but for them to at least no that they have betrayed their sport so the sport will punish you. No sporting bodie is ever immune from stupidity .
Redb
Roar Guru
Pretty disgraceful that someone would turn this into a code war. But what do expect from the soccer folk.
Onlooker
Guest
it'll never be an overnight fix. So, not so 'sad' that it's still being talked about - perhaps sadder if it didn't generate discussion. Racisms, or intolerance, or just bad manners - surely will never disappear 100% and are not the privilege of one side of the equation (power might be though). The ongoing wrestling of a 'multicultural' society is a very broad issue. Recent debate in Europe about 'Tolerance' as a better Social design than 'MultiCultural' illustrates this is far, far bigger than a couple of spectators at 2nd tier games in Sthern Australia.
Rob McLean
Guest
Sadly, I wrote upon this issue several weeks ago. And, here we are talking about it again. Sad.
Onlooker
Guest
Curious about where you're going with this? Events in 1920s Australia or even around 1960 are part of the broader historical fabric here - but, for the here and now in the era of 'racial vilification' codes and the like it's thankfully, very different. I must say though, while those willing to speak or act out acts of racism thankfully appears to be a diminishing minority; I can't help but ponder how many people 'THINK' it and don't go that extra step because of 'PC' considerations. Is that enough? Will deep down attitudes then change generationally? Looking at my kids, very multicultural school/classes - they seem fine with it all. I'd like to think that the 'generational' change would take care of it. However, was the Vic govt removing the obligation to give thanks to the 'traditional land owners' as retrograde step? Mixed messages?
cp
Guest
I will say it I was a racist, It is not that I don't have friends of different nationalities or that I hate people of a different skin color to myself. When I was younger I went to work in the US for 3 months, it was then that I found out that I was racist. Every time I was surrounded by black people or in a Black neighbourhood I felt uneasy, scared. When I saw a white person I felt reassured and confident. I came to the conclusion that because I was raised in a predominantly white culture where it is the very rare exception to see a black person that the unease I felt was unfamiliarity. Thankfully for me the time I spent in the US helped me grow as a person and I am far more open to other cultures, but it took time and re-education. Hitting this bloke with a life ban wont help him grow, making him do community service in some of these communities getting to know other cultures with their good and bad points will.
Onlooker
Guest
far, far worse happens in all codes at local level - usually isolated, but, worse and more violent. The stands taken at the elite level should never be underestimated as to their value in setting the agenda. All the more so, when our political leaders send such mixed messages as they do over a variety of issues that verge on outright racism (if looked at from a certain perspective and not trying to overly simplify complex issues).
Midfielder
Guest
A great post by a MV fan on the MV forum... Dougie Nicholls http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/heroes/nicholls.html was a natural athlete and played Aussie rules football. During one match, a Carlton football talent scout encouraged Doug to shift to Melbourne and try out for the Victorian Football League to play for Carlton. Club officials allowed him to train but the players didn't want an Aboriginal playing on the team. He overheard some of the players saying he smelled. He left Carlton and joined the struggling Northcote team. Players were given 10 to 15 shillings per game. In 1927 he played before a crowd of 9000 people and was a huge success. The club paid him a 2 pound ($4) bonus for the match. He played for the club for 5 years and was a member of their 1929 premiership team. In 1932 Doug joined Fitzroy where he remained until on-going problems with a knee injury forced him to retire in 1939. In 1940 he was back at Northcote as a non-playing coach. In 1935 he was the first Aboriginal player to be selected to play for the Victorian Inter-state Team." Of course there are two sides to the story because some within footy were happy to welcome him. It's a story that can be compared with the way black activist, Charlie Perkins was accepted in soccer. He commented many times about the way he felt accepted within soccer the way he was rarely accepted elsewhere. "A few Aborigines, far less than in rugby league an Australian rules, have played soccer at an elite level. One of the best known, Charles Perkins, whose football earnings helped pay his educational expenses enroute to becoming Australia’s first Aboriginal graduate, has acknowledged that he was more readily accepted by the European migrants than by white Australians. Nevertheless, most Aborigines who have adopted white person’s sport have turned to more mainstream Australian games." http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/ASSHSSH/ASSHSSH10.pdf Then there's John Moriarty: http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccer/socceroo-dreaming/2006/05/23/1148150255015.html?page=fullpage The first Aborigine to play for Australia. "AS ONE of the stolen generation, John Moriarty found that he was accepted by European migrants in a way he was not by mainstream, post-war Australia. Their sport was soccer, and so it became his. In 1960, he was picked to play for Australia — the first indigene to gain that honour — in a tournament in Singapore."