But nonetheless, as I have already said, Boateng’s actions are quite incredible. Many players may have just tried to get on with their game and ignore it (Boateng was not the only black player in the AC Milan side), but he has shown how football can be ruined thanks to brainless bigots. What is somewhat positive in a displeasing story however, is the reaction of the fans. Not once have I said that all the fans are to blame, or that Pro Patria are a racist club. Instead, it was a very small group who caused it all.
A group who, according to the Pro Patria chairman, are not even known to the club. And yet the rest of the crowd, despite seeing their day out ruined, applauded Boateng and the rest of the players’ decisions to leave the field of play, before venting their anger at this stupid minority. These racists are not football fans, but they ruin it for everyone who is.
So what can be done to eradicate racism? Bluntly put, I don’t know. And it probably won’t ever be completely. It is such a huge issue that it is going to take major changes in order to ensure that these types of incidents are gradually removed, but the bottom line is that the football authorities need to act because, quite honestly, they haven’t done enough thus far. It’s not an easy issue to tackle, and how exactly they can attempt to contain it is unsure, but how will it ever leave if we don’t even try?
In truth, I didn’t write this article to attempt to give you a solution on how to get rid of it. And you may now be wondering what exactly the point of this article is. I just wanted to vent my feelings on this latest racist incident, and that something seriously needs to be done to rebuild the reputation of the beautiful game.
Particularly with the amazing Olympics we have recently had in London, football’s reputation for cheating players with their arrogance of riches and incidents of racism, respect and homophobia puts the sport in an abysmal light. FIFA and UEFA need to up their attempts to tackle such problems; handing out a ban to a player or supporters for a couple of matches, or a fine which the players or clubs can easily pay, is not going to do much at all.
I’m not saying that racism will ever be truly eradicated, or that it will happen overnight, but if more is done to ensure that these incidents are limited to rare occurrences, then football will return to its title of the beautiful game. But personally I believe that Boateng has made a real statement, which can only be good. And for that, in a hopefully light hearted ending to this serious matter, in the words of Andy Gray: ‘Take a bow son!’.
**For any of you wanting to watch the incident, a link for Youtube is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyQcLJ0KoCg
Please leave any comments, give my Facebook page a ‘like’ (www.facebook.com/thefootballwriter) and follow me on Twitter: @bradpeterson22 @TFW_Official.
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.