All
across the globe soccer is referred to as the beautiful game. It is a game defined
by its creativity, ingenuity and skill. It is played by maestros who craft a
new work of art each time they step on the field. However, in recent times
soccer has been marred by a series of incidents involving racist abuse towards
minority players such as Kevin Prince-Boateng, Nigel de Jong, and Anton
Ferdinand. These three incidents happened in Italy, Poland, and the United
Kingdom, respectively. It is important to understand that racism in European
soccer is a lot different than racism in America. In Europe the conflict is not
necessarily caused by a history of slavery but more by a dislike of outsiders and
lingering Neo-Nazi/Fascist sentiments. Also, the response from minorities is
much different than here in America. In Europe the minorities speak out against
such racist abuse but there is often little action taken to prevent or put an
end to the racism or the abuse. More than anything else the inaction on behalf
of UEFA and FIFA, the two main governing bodies of soccer as a whole, is a
major cause for concern. Although policies are often put in place they are very
rarely enacted or followed through on. (Preece, Thompson, Telegraph)
In
the two incidents involving Boateng and de Jong, who are Ghanaian and Dutch,
respectively; the players were forced to endure monkey chants from minority
groups in the stands. Both players reacted similarly, Boateng reacted by
punting the ball into the stands and storming off the field; whereas de Jong
was at a training session and simply moved his team to the opposite end of the
field from where the racist abuse was occurring (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156303/Euro-2012-Polish-thugs-hurl-racist-abuse-monkey-chants-Holland-stars-Krakow.html) (Thompson, Preece). In the case of Ferdinand, he was abused by another player during a game; the player abusing him was John Terry of Chelsea, who was the captain of the English national team at the time. Ferdinand reacted by taking his case to court, in which a Magistrates’ court ruled Terry not guilty but in a follow up investigation by the Football Association, he was found guilty, suspended four games, and fined £220,000 (Telegraph). In all three cases the men on the receiving end of the abuse used Assertive Accommodation to handle their situations; speaking out against racism, networking with other minority players, and using the representation of minority members of FIFA and UEFA to try and push through change.
 |
| Anton Ferdinand and John Terry |
One
could almost look at this situation as a bully/victim relationship, with the
racist fans the bullies and the players the victims. The racist fans in Europe
abuse the players and do not see the anguish that the minority players go
through inside as being caused by them. They are truly thoughtless in their
actions and view this more as a game than something that can do serious harm to
an individual. The players, as the non-dominant group, take action to try and
prevent the bullying but are powerless until a higher governing body comes in
and takes action to end the racist abuse. The racist fans know this about the
players and the label of being powerless is just one of many that they attach
to the players in an effort to make their actions justifiable. The fans also
carry much hatred towards the players because they view them as outsiders/invaders,
and as dumb, dim-witted individuals who are powerless to stop them.
The
language used in this case is a language of hate, but one of the issues at the
root of this problem is that the dominant group do not see this as hatred; it
is almost considered a type of playful banter. That is often the problem with
the dominant/non-dominant relationship, the dominant groups(usually men,
whites, heterosexuals) do not see that their language creates a communication
system that supports their perception of the world. And that in turn, the
non-dominant group has a hard time adapting to this reality that they are
forced to live in. Essentially what I am trying to say is that the dominant
group is blind to the struggle caused by the world they create and that because
of this they are often caught off guard by issues of inequality and injustice.
It is important to be aware of social positions in terms of language and intercultural
communication because “the concept of differences is key to language and the
semiotic process.” (Martin & Nakayama, p.245)
Works Cited
Pictures:
"John Terry Racism Row with Anton Ferdinand Timeline." Telegraph.
N.p., 27 Sept. 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/8860484/John-Terry-racism-row-with-Anton-Ferdinand-timeline.html>.
Preece, Rob. "Polish Thugs Attack English-speaking
Fans[...]at Start of Euro 2012." Mail Online. N.p., 8 June
2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156303/Euro-2012-Polish-thugs-hurl-racist-abuse-monkey-chants-Holland-stars-Krakow.html>.
Thompson, Wright. "When The Beautiful Game Turns Ugly." ESPN.
N.p., 5 June 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
<http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/9338962/when-beautiful-game-turns-ugly>.
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2013). Intercultural
communication in context. (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
P
Great analysis! I enjoyed reading your post. Thanks for shining a light on this subject. Formatting got a little weird with your reference list.
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