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Suarez ridiculous race row
OK, so Luis Suarez isn’t the best player to use as a shining
example of how one should behave on a football field. But,
come on,
wasn’t the
row over
his supposedracial
abuse
of Man
Utd’s Patrice
Evra a
tad overblown?
In
the highlytouchy
corridors
of the
Football
Association, any whiff of racism makes those old boys (all white,
by the way) shudder. They worry that they’ll be accused of
ignoring the issue if they do nothing, so they huff and puff and
come out with all the felicitous platitudes.
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To recap, Suarez offended Evra during a Liverpool-Man Utd
match by apparently repeatedly using racist language. Evra is
the only one who heard this. Evra said in his report that he didn’t
think Suarez was a racist. Evra also once made up an over-the-top
complaint about a Chelsea groundsman and was banned for four
games as a result.
This isn’t an Evra witch-hunt either, though. The main problem
here was language. Suarez apparently used the word ‘negra’. You
may well think that after four years playing in Europe Suarez should
know that this was going to be inflammatory.
However, it should also be noted that in Uruguay, such references
to race are normal. Suarez, whose grandfather was black, is
from a country where racial references are banded about without
anybody taking offence.
Obdulio Varela, a World Cup winner with Uruguay, was known
as ‘El Negro Jefe’, or the black boss. In today’s squad there is Maxi
Pereria, known as ‘El Mono’, or ‘the monkey’ while Alvaro Fernandez
is called ‘El Flaco’, or ‘Mr Skinny’.
It is hard, if not impossible, for the suits at the FA to accept
that this is the norm in some societies. It may not be acceptable
in our Westernised eyes, but that’s really our problem isn’t it, not
theirs.
Which brings us to Thailand. We should be thankful that no
Thai footballers have ever got beyond Everton’s reserve squad,
otherwise there’d be cries of ‘blackie’ and ‘darkie’ every time there
was a corner kick.
Not that Thais are racist, either. They just have different attitudes
to skin colour. That attitude usually extends to Thais with
darker skin, but sometimes it crosses over to those from different
races, which is where things get slightly more complicated.
Suarez’s case put the FA in a difficult position. It would be a
brave FA to dismiss a charge of racism, in much the same way you
don’t get many innocent verdicts in lese majeste cases. But the FA’s
decision to ban him for eight games is excessive, and seems like
they simply want to make a point.
Keane to Put the Record Straight
Manchester United legend Roy Keane has reignited a war of
words with old boss Alex Ferguson.
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Keane didn’t hold back as he claimed Fergie unceremoniously
dumped him when he was no longer of use.
He even claimed United threatened him with legal action after
a 2008 interview in which he hit out at the club’s handling of his exit
from Old Trafford.
Although he won seven Premier League titles while with Fergie,
Keane’s relationship with the red-nosed one ended after he left the
club in 2005.
Keane criticised United’s youthful team after they crashed out of
the Champions League at the group stages.
Fergie, not unreasonably, questioned Keane’s managerial record
which, so far, has been less than glorious.
In programme notes, Ferguson said his side were getting criticised
‘even from people we thought were perhaps on our side’.
The most recent clash came when Keane revealed his surprise
at Phil Jones saying he was ‘relaxed’ before the Euro defeat to Basel.
Keane said: “I’d be getting hold of some of those lads, saying,
‘You’d better buck up your ideas’.”
Sounding more and more bitter by the moment, Keane’s latest
complaint centres on how he was treated when his time was up.
After a row with assistant manager Carlos Queiroz, he was shown the
door in no uncertain manner.
Neville – the voice of wisdom
Unlikely as it may seem, and it does seem very unlikely, Gary
Neville has been something of a revelation this season.
No longer is he simply Beckham’s best mate or the full-back
whose fist-pumping victory salute to opposing Liverpool fans still
looks laughable. No, the former Manchester United defender is now
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the star turn on Sky Sports.
Many other
ex-pros have tried
and failed at this
job. There was
Jamie Redknapp,
who sounded so
keen but then said
so little, or Robbie
Earle, who sounds
like he was told
5 minutes before
kick off which
game he was going
to.
All that is over though. Enter Gary Neville, the voice of
footballing reason. Neville is great because he seems to be
focused purely on football and explaining the game to the
masses, rather than using Sky Sports as a vehicle to remain in
the public eye now his playing days are over.
He no longer seems like the nerdy, weasel-like stub of a
player; he is now Neville the pundit, analyst and deliverer of
tasty anecdotes.
One of the true joys of listening to Neville is that he is
unashamedly biased. They must almost fear giving him a
Liverpool game to work on as he’ll be wearing the opposing
team’s colours while simultaneously kissing a photo of Fergie
that’s in his top pocket.
He has already managed to annoy Chelsea boss Andre
Villa-Boas by suggesting David Luiz has been playing like he is
being “controlled by a 10-year-old in the crowd on a PlayStation”.
A wonderful line, and we can only hope
there is more to come. In a world of slick
suits, sharp delivery and product placement,
it’s reassuring to know that there
is a place in the world of football commentary
for someone like Gary Neville.
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