Open Bar for Insults

The series of xenophobic incidents in football stadiums has put players on alert and served as evidence that the CSD does not comply with the current law

Wednesday, April 13^th, 2011 – Updated at 9:43

Almost a year ago, during the game between Betis and Elche, the referee Amoedo Chas caught the racist insults made against Ghanaian Mubarak Wakasa in the act.

PAMPLONA. Last Sunday, a section in the stands of the Vicente Calderón stadium, in addition to continually taunting about the assassination of Aitor Zabaleta committed in 1998, demonstrated extreme verbal violence, shouting chants against Basques throughout the entire game. A few weeks ago, much of the Athletic Madrid Stadium launched insults against the Madrid player Marcelo and against Christiano Ronaldo, who is now accustomed to this rudeness, which, despite Ronaldo’s attitude, is unjustified. This same season, the Barcelona player Dani Alves, embittered by what took place in Montjuic, acknowledged that “in Spain, I have learned to live with racism.”

In February, 2005, Pérez Burrull ended a Málaga-Espanyol game due to cries against the Cameroon goalkeeper Kameni, and Ramírez Domínguez followed this same practice during the Getafe-Osasuna game, in which Morales was the victim. But the event with possibly the most media attention occurred in February, 2006, when the former FC Barcelona player Samuel Eto'o wanted to leave the field due to the condemnations and onomatopoeic jeers that he was receiving from a section in the stands at the Romareda. Another person who can personally attest to this uncivil behavior is Carlos Gurpegi, who is targeted in many stadiums and who habitually hears expressions such as “junkie” and “drug addict” since testing positive for Nandrolone in August, 2002 in Anoeta.

Although the Law 19/2007 against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sports was enacted on July 11^th, these despicable behaviors have multiplied within football stadiums during this season, and a consensus has still not even been reached between the FEF and the LFP as to whether referees are required to include these incidents in their records.

Esteban Ibarra, president of the Movement against Intolerance, denounces that the law is not being properly applied on the part of clubs and organizations, and he laments the way in which partisan journalism instigates an environment in which those who act peacefully are only factions of the extreme right-wing ideology.

Security Delegates Ignore the Problem

 “It is a grave problem. Two weeks ago we suffered in the Rayo-Betis game. We know about the ultra fans from Valencia that cause trouble when they travel to play against Osasuna, about what they say to Gurpegi, and the symbols and banners that appear in many places and that people do not understand,” Ibarra explained to this newspaper. In his recent book, La España racista (“Racist Spain”) (2011, Ediciones Temas de Hoy), he dedicates a chapter to this concern. “They do not intervene because the security guards at each field are not up to par for these circumstances, and the referees are not adequately trained to identify what incites violence. It is excessive that they should be looking for it in the stands. We call for an inspection on the part of the CSD, which is the party responsible for ensuring the strict implementation of the Law,” he says.

Beyond the direct responsibilities and decisions of the disciplinary committees, the CSD exists to enforce the Law, which permits referees to cancel any type of sporting event where racist chants or attempts to dishonor players or referees take place. It even includes provisions for penalties ranging from 150 to 600,000 euro and even imprisonment. The Law also makes clearly provides for the banning of entry to any sports arena for offenders. The problem is that, if there is no denouncement, there is no possibility for punishment.

These chapters are not inherent only for the State (recently, two separate incidents occurred where bananas were thrown at the Brazilian player, Neymar, and his compatriot Roberto Carlos, during games against Scotland and Zenit St. Petersburg, respectively), but that is “no consolation.” In the Spanish League, song traditions have evolved such as “This Portuguese person, he is a son of a….,” “Mourinho, die!” or the “uh, uh, uh” in a hominid allusion. And it seems that, after huge investments in education and awareness campaigns on the part of UEFA and FIFA, and the commendable efforts from both greater and lesser known institutions, there is no way to eliminate this problem. “According to regulations, it is mandatory to record the activity of ultra fans. Nevertheless, they continue reserving tickets and seats. The law requires that they are located and that their leaders are identified, but this is not done.”

An example of good practice took place when the ex-president of Barca, Joan Laporta, confronted the Boixos Nois, who then harassed him throughout the remainder of his term. But normally, “leaders prefer to go along with them as opposed to confronting an organization that can provoke delicate situations such as protests or riots on the field.”

Thuram, Eto’o, Alves, and Cristiano himself are some of the football players that have quit in the middle of a game. “The players can also contribute to ending this by not posing for photographs or celebrating goals with these types of fans,” explains Ibarra, who observes that there is a dead-end with regard to trying to fix this issue. “When the incident with Samuel occurred, it seemed that we were advancing in the harassment that gave place to the Law, but it continues existing with impunity. The groups of ultra fans know this, and they are stimulated by it within this crowd sport. Moreover, the danger lies in the fact that there is now more and more trouble at lower levels.”

"Trench Warfare” Press, Ultra Fan Journalists

The glow of the extreme right-wing ideology that has empowered the political bipolarity of the State has also pervaded football and “trench warfare journalism,” with analyses that transcend the world of sports and enter more rugged terrain. “It is the heater of the parties, the lack of delegitimization of violence….Now it rewards the journalist who aligns with the fanfare colors, with the belligerent behaviors that strain the environment,” emphasizes Ibarra. “And it is the ideological use that the extreme right makes of this. The ideology exists in an exclusive manner,” he laments. Sadly, it is an open bar.