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Blown out of proportion? Racist taunts inexcusable, but officials went too far
Updated: Thursday October 19, 2000 5:29 PM
When is racism not racist? That's the question that's arisen in Italy recently, where Italian soccer champions, Lazio, are in the midst of a racially charged controversy. For those who don't know, the Italian club is currently under investigation by UEFA, the governing body of European football, following the recent Champions League game with Arsenal of England during which a section of the crowd jeered Arsenal's black players whenever they got the ball, and Lazio's Yugoslav defender, Sinisa Mihajlovic, called Arsenal midfielder, Patrick Viera, a "black s**t" after allegedly being called a "gypsy s**t" by the Frenchman. My question is, what's to investigate? In the case of the hundred or so Italian racists in the crowd, which the club has already condemned as "imbeciles", what more is there to do than weed out the culprits and ban them from every stadium in the country. It's not rocket science. Lazio's name, and as a result the name of Italian football, is being tarnished by this tiny minority. It's a clear cut case of racial bigotry, which the club and the entire Italian football fraternity has made strenuous efforts to eradicate in recent months, so what's to discuss? Forget civil liberties and the right to free speech, these people are conducting their tirade on private property. Other clubs outside of soccer reserve the right to refuse entry and eject patrons causing a disturbance. So let's stop talking, forget UEFA bureaucracy, and do whatever's necessary to kick the Neanderthals out of the game.
So where does that leave Sinisa Mihajlovic and, if the Yugoslav's allegations are to be believed, Patrick Viera? Well in my view this is an entirely different issue. Whatever's said on the pitch between players, provided it's not audible to the crowd or picked up by the referee, is, I believe, between the individuals involved. As someone who played the game at a fairly decent level back in the day, had I taken offense every time a player called me a black this or a black that, I'd be one tortured individual. Believe me, if you don't already know, players will say anything to screw up the opposition's concentration. You hear that a player's got a drink problem, taunt him with that in the clinches, as Gordon Strachan did to Tony Adams in the English Premier League a few seasons back. Marital problems? Nothing like a quiet reminder in the ear to disrupt an opponent's focus. Ask Gazza. If it rattles them, then it's had the desired affect. Mihajlovic admitted as much in the aftermath of the current furor, claiming his comments were personal not racist, and arguing that what's said on the pitch should stay on the pitch. And much as I find his choice of psychological weaponry ignorant and distasteful, I have to agree with him. Patrick Viera is a big, strong, talented hardman, who's been around, and knows the game. As a result, the notion that a few choice words could leave him wounded is, to me, ludicrous. Certainly, racism has to be stamped out of the game, but players and officials have to pick their battles. And in my view this should not have been one of them. Terry Baddoo is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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