| Are they really? |
UEFA, the European governing body last night confirmed that Porto will be fined £16,700 after their supporters racially abused Manchester City star Mario Balotelli in February. The Portuguese fans sang monkey chants throughout the game and particularly when Balotelli was substituted towards the end of the game. Man City immediately complained and after a disciplinary meeting this week, Porto were fined.
£16,700, is that all?
Although it is good to see clubs being fined for racial behaviour, the fine issued today is embarrassing. Racism will never be eradicated when the only repercussions is a small and insignificant fine. £16,700 really is nothing to a club when they spend nearly 40 million euros a year on wages.
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If you wanted further proof that UEFA aren’t taking racism seriously, you just have to look at the other fines issued today. Porto today were fined €20,000 while Arsene Wenger was personally fined €40,000 a few weeks ago for criticising a referee’s decision.
So criticising a referee with emotions running high is worse than racially abusing a black player? Of course it isn’t, but that’s what UEFA’s fines suggest. Meanwhile Barcelona were fined €95,000 after their fans used flares. Are UEFA having a laugh? No wonder racism still remains.
Porto have three days to appeal the fine. You wouldn’t be surprised if they did appeal and will be successful with it. Porto claimed that there was a huge misunderstanding and that the fans were simply chanting “Hulk, Hulk, Hulk.” It’s just an embarrassing attempt by the Portuguese to cover their tracks as all European clubs should be leading the attempts to stamp out racism.
What was even more embarrassing was the complaint against Man City fans mocking the fact that Hulk wasn’t “incredible”. It just reminds you of the school playground: “If you tell on us, we’ll tell on you.”
Racism is still an important issue that needs to be addressed, but you fear that it will still remain in the upcoming years. In 2018, Russia will be hosting the World Cup, a frightening thought with racism a regular occurrence. Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos was targeted last year and again this week with a banana thrown on the pitch, the same reception that new signing Christopher Samba got weeks ago. Roberto Carlos has rightly complained and three days ago called for FIFA and UEFA to take action.
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| Roberto Carlos… victim of racial abuse in Russia |
However, despite claiming their anti-racism stance, both bodies washed their hands of the matter. With racism an underlying and an obvious threat in Russian football, you have to question the decision to award the nation with the World Cup.
With teams from across every continent competing, it will be no surprise if players and fans avoided the cup to stay away from the problem. If that was to happen, the governing bodies can’t complain that they weren’t warned.
So how should we tackle racism? An example of how to do so is by looking at the English FA, who set a perfect example earlier in the season (never thought I would say that.) As we have seen, racism is still a problem in the English game, although not as bad as it had once been. Luiz Suarez is the perfect example, as he received an 8-game-ban for his comments towards Patrice Evra. Although banning players doesn’t eradicate racism, players will think twice if they were to say anything.
So is this a way to punish clubs for their fans behaviour instead of a tiny fine? If Porto were ordered to play behind closed doors for their next game, fans would surely think twice about racial chants next time. Or if that doesn’t stop them, disqualification from the cup seems a reasonable punishment. Being harsh is the only way that racism will be stamped out.
So does UEFA really care about racism? Judging by their actions, no. UEFA had a perfect chance to give out a big fine or further punishments but instead the club are fined less than one Frenchman for his comments about a referee. UEFA run the Europeans version of the beautiful game, but they’ve been less than pretty lately.Written by Craig LishmanFollow him on Twitter @CraigLishmanCheck out his excellent site, Craig LishmanPlease like O-Posts on FacebookFollow the site on Twitter
