Manuel Sanchez Gomez |
London (EFE) Spain’s candidacy for the 2030 World Cup: “It is unthinkable that Spain hosts a tournament like this if it does nothing against racism.”
England, that country whose population voted 55% to flee the European Union and whose immigration policies by the Conservative Party are criticized every week, once again ignored the advice of Gareth Southgate, who was asked before the World Cup in Russia about whether he was concerned about racism in this country.
“Before criticizing the rest, we should solve our own problems with racism,” said the English coach, who a few months later saw how Raheem Sterling, then a Manchester City player, was subjected to racist insults at Stamford Bridge.
Racist slurs against multiple players
It was an important case, because it served to show that in what England does stand out compared to Spain, in acting. One person was banned for life from Stamford Bridge and five more were banned for between one and two years for insulting Sterling. But the existence of this penal power does not mean that the league is without problems and it is easy to show that “racist incidents in stadiums are extremely rare”, as The Times exclaims, is false.
In recent months, Heung-min Son, a South Korean player for Tottenham Hotspur, has received racist insults at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace ground, and at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal, in the north London derby, investigated two supporters for alleged anti-Semitic insults at Tottenham, which has a large Jewish community in its supporters.
According to data provided by Arsenal itself, 31 people have been suspended since the start of the 2021 season for incidents related to racism.
This season also produced one of the most emblematic cases. In October, Ivan Toney, a Brentford striker, shared on his social networks some insults he had received after beating Brighton. A 24-year-old man was charged with a hate crime and received a four-month jail sentence, suspended as long as he does not reoffend, and became the first person to be banned from any stadium in England.
The police described this sentence as “a historic moment” and serves to show how much the country has improved in criminal matters, not social ones, since that 2018 in which Sterling had to put up with some madmen at Stamford Bridge.
Racist incidents in the Euro 2021 final
Another important moment was the final of the Eurocup in 2021, the one that faced Italy and England at Wembley and was decided in a penalty shootout. Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka all missed their shots and England lost. The networks were filled with insults to these three players and the police collected 600 reports on these incidents. Eleven people were arrested and one man was sentenced to fourteen weeks in prison.
The disrespect goes beyond racism and this season it has become fashionable for visiting fans to make fun of the Hillsborough victims. Chants of “Always victims, never guilty” and “Murderers”, by the fans of Chelsea and Manchester City, have been addressed to Liverpool, a club that experienced in 1989 one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of football, with the death of 97 people.
Also, at Leeds United-Manchester United, the ‘Whites’ laughed at the Munich plane crash in 1958, which killed 23 of the United expedition, and the ‘Red Devils’ responded by reminding the two Leeds fans that were stabbed to death in a UEFA Cup semi-final in Istanbul.
In some ways, like the penalty, England are light years ahead of Spain, but the problem of racism is as entrenched in their league as it is in Spain. That after a World Cup in Russia and another in Qatar, countries known for their questionable respect for human rights, England advocates vetoing Spain from organizing the tournament is surprising to say the least.
