Soccer tries to kick its shame of racism
By Hal Habib
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
CARY, N.C. — The Beautiful Game has an ugly blemish.
A monthlong celebration will begin Friday in Germany with the kickoff of the World Cup, considered the single greatest unifying force in sports. But while soccer's best 32 teams from around the globe gather, organizers hope the same cannot be said for racists who have infiltrated the sport with increasing regularity.
<!--endtext--><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Preview: A look at the World Cup
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--begintext-->Around the world and particularly in Europe, being inside soccer stadiums at the wrong time can mean witnessing shocking events, including bananas being thrown at black players, monkey chants and other racial slurs.
Swastika banners have been displayed in stadiums. Fans whose teams are playing Amsterdam's Ajax, which supposedly has Jewish origins, often make a loud hissing noise, simulating gas chambers. Referee Rene Temmink stopped one match in the Netherlands after the crowd chanted, "Temmink, to the gas chamber!"
"It's almost like history is slowly repeating itself," U.S. defender Eddie Pope says.
Like many black players, Pope is hoping for the best in Germany but is bracing for the worst. "It could get bad," he says.
Pope knows that expectation alone would startle American sports fans who might pay attention to soccer for just a month every four years.
"You would never see that at an NBA game. Ever," Pope says. "Can you imagine that? Making monkey noises at an NBA game or an NFL game? It would be ridiculous."
In recent years, so many organizations have sprouted aimed at driving racism from the self-described "beautiful game" that they have formed a network called Football Against Racism in Europe. Meanwhile, FIFA, the sport's world governing body, has promised stern punishment for offenses at the World Cup, including the docking of standings points, although the organization's history of waffling has some questioning whether the vows are serious.
In Ukraine, national-team coach Oleg Blokhin told reporters that his countrymen should stay in their national league so younger players could learn from them "and not some zumba-bumba whom they took off a tree, gave two bananas and now he plays in the Ukrainian league." No apology followed. One South African paper said Blokhin "has the politics of a mentally ill T-Rex."
Blokhin will coach Ukraine in the World Cup.
In Spain, TV microphones caught national-team coach Luis Aragones using a racial slur against French striker Thierry Henry, supposedly to inspire one of his players, Jose Antonio Reyes. As if not bad enough on its own, the remark was compounded three times over: Henry and Reyes are teammates on the London club Arsenal. The remark was interpreted as possibly affecting Madrid's failed bid to host the 2012 Olympics. And Aragones explained himself by telling the Spanish paper El Mundo, "I have got a lot of gypsy and black friends."
Aragones will coach Spain in the World Cup.
On June 14, Ukraine plays Spain in Leipzig.
"When you talk about football, you talk about racism," says Henry, one of the best players in the world. "And I don't want that to be the case in the sport I love."
Immediately following Aragones' slur, Henry, who has a Nike contract, rounded up some of the game's biggest names and leaned on his Nike contacts to launch a "Stand Up Speak Up" campaign that encourages fans to take the lead when they witness racism.
"These racists have to be made to feel like a minority," says Henry, whose allotment of interlocking black and white wristbands quickly sold out.
Henry's is a lofty goal, considering that some European cultures don't consider racism as taboo as in the United States.
"We've had to deal with a lot of racial issues — not always to the best of our ability, but we're still dealing with them," says Eli Wolff, who specializes in human rights and international sports for Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society. "In some other countries, it's not as prevalent an issue, or hasn't been."
The irony, Wolff says, is that sports, "a platform of diversity and inclusion," finds itself "clashing with colonialism or imperialism" in some countries.
U.S. defender Cory Gibbs of Fort Lauderdale says he learned that lesson firsthand, particularly in eastern Germany.
"Restaurants, clubs, certain events — they'd say it's a 'private party,' " says Gibbs, who plays for Dutch club ADO Den Haag.
Hearing that, Gibbs can't help but feel he's in a 1960s time warp.
"I just laugh about it and go about my business," says Gibbs, who made the World Cup roster, then lost it because of a knee injury. "You deal with it. I take it as ignorance. I'm not going to go somewhere where I'm not welcome."
On the field or not, players have varied reactions to racism. Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o, from Cameroon, tearfully mouthed "No more! No more!" to fans in Spain's Zaragoza stadium who made monkey chants and threw peanuts at him.
Eto'o was about to walk off when his coach, Frank Rijkaard, encouraged him to stay. It was a poignant scene, for in 1990, Rijkaard, a black Dutchman, was red-carded from a 1990 World Cup match for spitting at Germany's Rudi Voller after Voller racially insulted him.
During the next few minutes, Eto'o sparked a two-goal rally, setting up the winning goal. For Eto'o, it was the perfect way to silence the crowd, but not everyone can do it.
"I see a guy right there and he calls me the N-word, I'll probably go crazy because I've never experienced it," American forward Eddie Johnson says. "If you notice, it's big-time African-American players that are getting these things chanted at them, because people are trying to do everything they can to stop these players from having success against their team."
There's no telling how many slurs are uttered because of sheer hatred and how many are badly misguided attempts to throw a player off his game. In the latter case, Henry says, fans should know better.
"That's fine if it's about the color of the shirt, but when it's about the color of the skin, that's a different problem," he says.
Many black players say as difficult as it may be, ignoring bigotry is the best response.
"It's not our job to have to respond to that," Pope says. "That's FIFA's job."
Being black is no requirement for being offended, says Steve Cherundolo, an American defender who plays for Hannover 96 in Germany and has witnessed monkey chants and bananas thrown at black players.
"That just upsets me and I can imagine how it upsets the players that it really affects," Cherundolo says. "I've talked to all of them about it. How do I explain it to my family and friends and people I know? You really can't. There's really no way to explain what's going on in these people's heads other than they're just not schooled or just ignorant."
This World Cup will mark the first sporting event of this magnitude in Germany since the tragedy-marred 1972 Munich Olympics. Cherundolo says that, if the tournament lives up to his vision as "one big soccerfest," it would boost the country's spirits.
"Hope is a good way to put it," Cherundolo says, pointing out how previous World Cups helped Germany escape post-war depression. "They want to be good hosts and they want to prove to the world that the past is the past and it's a new country. It's a country similar to America, where foreigners are welcomed."
History is part of what gives Wolff hope for this World Cup.
"In Germany, you'd think they've learned from the wrongs of Nazi Germany so they wouldn't necessarily repeat those same practices," says Wolff, who will attend the tournament. "Hopefully they've learned from the wrongs and will in fact promote the rights."
Ultimately, the task of creating that unified atmosphere falls upon FIFA and match organizers. Enforcement has been spotty: Witness the $3,850 fine Spain's soccer federation levied upon Aragones. But FIFA President Sepp Blatter told Britain's Sky TV that at the "first sign" of racism at the World Cup, a team will lose three points in the standings. "Then we are finished with the problems of discrimination," Blatter said.
Perhaps. Even Blatter admits enforcement could be tricky because officials must determine whether offenders are linked to the team in question or actually rival fans trying to frame that team.
Nevertheless, American midfielder Landon Donovan, who had two stints with Beyer Leverkusen in Germany, bluntly says, "Kick someone out of the tournament and see if it happens again."
FIFA launched a "show racism a red card" campaign and adopted the slogan "A time to make friends" for the tournament. Anti-racism advertisements will air during broadcasts on every continent. Before each match, players will hold banners condemning racism. An anti-racism day is planned. Starting with the quarterfinals, team captains will read anti-racism messages.
Even without these measures, the potential exists for a monthlong "soccerfest." Many racial incidents have involved one or two minorities playing for clubs in areas that haven't tackled discrimination issues. By contrast, nobody attending a World Cup match involving, say, Ivory Coast, will be shocked when black players step onto the field.
"At the World Cup, it won't be as bad," Gibbs says. "It's a tournament with 32 countries in it."
Still, American-based researcher Strategic Forecasting issued a report last month warning that "neo-Nazi groups, perhaps fueled by alcohol, could descend on small groups of foreign soccer fans, particularly those from the Middle East or Africa." The report concluded, "With few travel restrictions and possibly inadequate security, the potential for trouble during this event is serious."
Strategic Forecasting pinpointed the June 14 Poland-Germany match in Dortmund as particularly worrisome. Police in Gelsenkirchen are forbidding the far-right National Democratic Party from holding a demonstration Saturday before Poland faces Ecuador.
"I don't think we can change people's attitudes," Henry says. "But we can make them aware and ask them to behave for an hour and a half each weekend. I don't think that's difficult."
By Hal Habib
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
CARY, N.C. — The Beautiful Game has an ugly blemish.
A monthlong celebration will begin Friday in Germany with the kickoff of the World Cup, considered the single greatest unifying force in sports. But while soccer's best 32 teams from around the globe gather, organizers hope the same cannot be said for racists who have infiltrated the sport with increasing regularity.
<!--endtext--><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Preview: A look at the World Cup
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=170 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=center><TD bgColor=#000099><CENTER>More in Sports</CENTER></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD bgColor=#efefef>• Latest news, photos
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• Florida Marlins, MLB
• Miami Heat, NBA
• Florida Panthers, NHL
• Colleges | Gators | Hurricanes
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--begintext-->Around the world and particularly in Europe, being inside soccer stadiums at the wrong time can mean witnessing shocking events, including bananas being thrown at black players, monkey chants and other racial slurs.
Swastika banners have been displayed in stadiums. Fans whose teams are playing Amsterdam's Ajax, which supposedly has Jewish origins, often make a loud hissing noise, simulating gas chambers. Referee Rene Temmink stopped one match in the Netherlands after the crowd chanted, "Temmink, to the gas chamber!"
"It's almost like history is slowly repeating itself," U.S. defender Eddie Pope says.
Like many black players, Pope is hoping for the best in Germany but is bracing for the worst. "It could get bad," he says.
Pope knows that expectation alone would startle American sports fans who might pay attention to soccer for just a month every four years.
"You would never see that at an NBA game. Ever," Pope says. "Can you imagine that? Making monkey noises at an NBA game or an NFL game? It would be ridiculous."
In recent years, so many organizations have sprouted aimed at driving racism from the self-described "beautiful game" that they have formed a network called Football Against Racism in Europe. Meanwhile, FIFA, the sport's world governing body, has promised stern punishment for offenses at the World Cup, including the docking of standings points, although the organization's history of waffling has some questioning whether the vows are serious.
In Ukraine, national-team coach Oleg Blokhin told reporters that his countrymen should stay in their national league so younger players could learn from them "and not some zumba-bumba whom they took off a tree, gave two bananas and now he plays in the Ukrainian league." No apology followed. One South African paper said Blokhin "has the politics of a mentally ill T-Rex."
Blokhin will coach Ukraine in the World Cup.
In Spain, TV microphones caught national-team coach Luis Aragones using a racial slur against French striker Thierry Henry, supposedly to inspire one of his players, Jose Antonio Reyes. As if not bad enough on its own, the remark was compounded three times over: Henry and Reyes are teammates on the London club Arsenal. The remark was interpreted as possibly affecting Madrid's failed bid to host the 2012 Olympics. And Aragones explained himself by telling the Spanish paper El Mundo, "I have got a lot of gypsy and black friends."
Aragones will coach Spain in the World Cup.
On June 14, Ukraine plays Spain in Leipzig.
"When you talk about football, you talk about racism," says Henry, one of the best players in the world. "And I don't want that to be the case in the sport I love."
Immediately following Aragones' slur, Henry, who has a Nike contract, rounded up some of the game's biggest names and leaned on his Nike contacts to launch a "Stand Up Speak Up" campaign that encourages fans to take the lead when they witness racism.
"These racists have to be made to feel like a minority," says Henry, whose allotment of interlocking black and white wristbands quickly sold out.
Henry's is a lofty goal, considering that some European cultures don't consider racism as taboo as in the United States.
"We've had to deal with a lot of racial issues — not always to the best of our ability, but we're still dealing with them," says Eli Wolff, who specializes in human rights and international sports for Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society. "In some other countries, it's not as prevalent an issue, or hasn't been."
The irony, Wolff says, is that sports, "a platform of diversity and inclusion," finds itself "clashing with colonialism or imperialism" in some countries.
U.S. defender Cory Gibbs of Fort Lauderdale says he learned that lesson firsthand, particularly in eastern Germany.
"Restaurants, clubs, certain events — they'd say it's a 'private party,' " says Gibbs, who plays for Dutch club ADO Den Haag.
Hearing that, Gibbs can't help but feel he's in a 1960s time warp.
"I just laugh about it and go about my business," says Gibbs, who made the World Cup roster, then lost it because of a knee injury. "You deal with it. I take it as ignorance. I'm not going to go somewhere where I'm not welcome."
On the field or not, players have varied reactions to racism. Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o, from Cameroon, tearfully mouthed "No more! No more!" to fans in Spain's Zaragoza stadium who made monkey chants and threw peanuts at him.
Eto'o was about to walk off when his coach, Frank Rijkaard, encouraged him to stay. It was a poignant scene, for in 1990, Rijkaard, a black Dutchman, was red-carded from a 1990 World Cup match for spitting at Germany's Rudi Voller after Voller racially insulted him.
During the next few minutes, Eto'o sparked a two-goal rally, setting up the winning goal. For Eto'o, it was the perfect way to silence the crowd, but not everyone can do it.
"I see a guy right there and he calls me the N-word, I'll probably go crazy because I've never experienced it," American forward Eddie Johnson says. "If you notice, it's big-time African-American players that are getting these things chanted at them, because people are trying to do everything they can to stop these players from having success against their team."
There's no telling how many slurs are uttered because of sheer hatred and how many are badly misguided attempts to throw a player off his game. In the latter case, Henry says, fans should know better.
"That's fine if it's about the color of the shirt, but when it's about the color of the skin, that's a different problem," he says.
Many black players say as difficult as it may be, ignoring bigotry is the best response.
"It's not our job to have to respond to that," Pope says. "That's FIFA's job."
Being black is no requirement for being offended, says Steve Cherundolo, an American defender who plays for Hannover 96 in Germany and has witnessed monkey chants and bananas thrown at black players.
"That just upsets me and I can imagine how it upsets the players that it really affects," Cherundolo says. "I've talked to all of them about it. How do I explain it to my family and friends and people I know? You really can't. There's really no way to explain what's going on in these people's heads other than they're just not schooled or just ignorant."
This World Cup will mark the first sporting event of this magnitude in Germany since the tragedy-marred 1972 Munich Olympics. Cherundolo says that, if the tournament lives up to his vision as "one big soccerfest," it would boost the country's spirits.
"Hope is a good way to put it," Cherundolo says, pointing out how previous World Cups helped Germany escape post-war depression. "They want to be good hosts and they want to prove to the world that the past is the past and it's a new country. It's a country similar to America, where foreigners are welcomed."
History is part of what gives Wolff hope for this World Cup.
"In Germany, you'd think they've learned from the wrongs of Nazi Germany so they wouldn't necessarily repeat those same practices," says Wolff, who will attend the tournament. "Hopefully they've learned from the wrongs and will in fact promote the rights."
Ultimately, the task of creating that unified atmosphere falls upon FIFA and match organizers. Enforcement has been spotty: Witness the $3,850 fine Spain's soccer federation levied upon Aragones. But FIFA President Sepp Blatter told Britain's Sky TV that at the "first sign" of racism at the World Cup, a team will lose three points in the standings. "Then we are finished with the problems of discrimination," Blatter said.
Perhaps. Even Blatter admits enforcement could be tricky because officials must determine whether offenders are linked to the team in question or actually rival fans trying to frame that team.
Nevertheless, American midfielder Landon Donovan, who had two stints with Beyer Leverkusen in Germany, bluntly says, "Kick someone out of the tournament and see if it happens again."
FIFA launched a "show racism a red card" campaign and adopted the slogan "A time to make friends" for the tournament. Anti-racism advertisements will air during broadcasts on every continent. Before each match, players will hold banners condemning racism. An anti-racism day is planned. Starting with the quarterfinals, team captains will read anti-racism messages.
Even without these measures, the potential exists for a monthlong "soccerfest." Many racial incidents have involved one or two minorities playing for clubs in areas that haven't tackled discrimination issues. By contrast, nobody attending a World Cup match involving, say, Ivory Coast, will be shocked when black players step onto the field.
"At the World Cup, it won't be as bad," Gibbs says. "It's a tournament with 32 countries in it."
Still, American-based researcher Strategic Forecasting issued a report last month warning that "neo-Nazi groups, perhaps fueled by alcohol, could descend on small groups of foreign soccer fans, particularly those from the Middle East or Africa." The report concluded, "With few travel restrictions and possibly inadequate security, the potential for trouble during this event is serious."
Strategic Forecasting pinpointed the June 14 Poland-Germany match in Dortmund as particularly worrisome. Police in Gelsenkirchen are forbidding the far-right National Democratic Party from holding a demonstration Saturday before Poland faces Ecuador.
"I don't think we can change people's attitudes," Henry says. "But we can make them aware and ask them to behave for an hour and a half each weekend. I don't think that's difficult."
FIFA using Cup to address racism
Posted: Thursday June 8, 2006 10:56PM; Updated: Thursday June 8, 2006 10:56PM
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<!--endclickprintexclude-->BERLIN (AP) -- U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley has heard the ugly words, vicious taunts screamed by fans in the Netherlands simply because he is black.
Cameroon's brilliant Samuel Eto'o was so sickened by insults hurled his way that he threatened to walk off the field.
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<SCRIPT>if(cnnEnableCL){if(!(location.hostname.indexOf('cnn.com')>-1)) {cnnAddCSI('contextualLinks','/.element/ssi/misc/2.0/contextual/story.html','');}else{ cnnAddCSI('contextualLinks','http://cl.cnn.com/ctxtlink/jsp/si/cl/2.0/si-story.jsp','category=sisoccer&url=http:/\/robots.cnnsi.com/2006/soccer/specials/world_cup/2006/06/08/bc.eu.spt.soc.wcup.racism.ap/index.html&desccharcnt=100&site=cnn_sisoccer_dyn_ctxt&origin=si');}}</SCRIPT><IFRAME id=iframecontextualLinks style="VISIBILITY: hidden; POSITION: absolute" name=iframecontextualLinks align=right src="http://cl.cnn.com/ctxtlink/jsp/si/cl/2.0/si-story.jsp?domId=contextualLinks&time=1150320373937&category=sisoccer&url=http://robots.cnnsi.com/2006/soccer/specials/world_cup/2006/06/08/bc.eu.spt.soc.wcup.racism.ap/index.html&desccharcnt=100&site=cnn_sisoccer_dyn_ctxt&origin=si" width=0 height=0></IFRAME></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--endclickprintexclude-->Even Thierry Henry, one of the world's best players and a spokesman for racial tolerance, has been stung by a slur -- from Spain's coach, no less.
Soccer has struggled for years to rid itself of racism. For this World Cup in Germany, which opens on Friday with two matches, the governing body of the world's sport is making harmony a central theme.
"Football, like most sports, is combative -- you play to win. But it shouldn't have anything to do with racism or violence," said Federico Addiechi, head of a FIFA division which deals with corporate social responsibility. "The problem will not disappear in a couple of days in the World Cup, but it's important to highlight the problem when you have such a platform."
German officials who don't want racist thugs to seize that platform have planned extensive security measures following recent attacks on minorities here. FIFA is trying to do its part, making its message of tolerance a theme at matches and highlighting its commitment at a news conference prior to kickoff.
Earlier this year, FIFA president Sepp Blatter could barely hide his disappointment when he said: "It is a shame for football that in the year 2006, you still have racism."
The 32-nation competition attracts fans from all over the globe. Even researchers at the South Pole play an occasional game.
The game has the power to unite, as two first-time World Cup participants show.
Angola's team, the Black Antelopes, helped bring together warring sides during a brutal 27-year civil war. Ivory Coast's trip to Germany helped restart peace talks between rebels and the government.
That kind of harmony doesn't always extend to fans, whose passionate enthusiasm too often can be tinged with racial hatred.
Hooligans, who don't care who they beat up, get much of the attention, with violence marring both the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. But as more black and mixed-race players appear in far-flung European leagues, racism is becoming even more pervasive.
In the last year:
-- Eto'o, who stars for Spanish power FC Barcelona, could be seen mouthing "no more" after being taunted in February with monkey sounds for a second year by Zaragoza fans. The team was fined US$10,700 (euro8,400), but that didn't stop Santander fans from insulting Eto'o two months later.
-- Ivory Coast and Messina defender Marc Zoro was reduced to tears by racist slurs and boos last November from Inter Milan fans.
-- Criticizing an influx of foreign players in Ukraine, national coach Oleg Blokhin said youngsters should learn from native sons, "not some zumba-bumba whom they took off a tree, gave him two bananas and now he plays in the Ukrainian League."
-- Ghana hired a Serbian coach, Ratomir Dujkovic, who was later quoted as saying that "discipline is the biggest problem with black Africans." Ghana officials refused to fire him, saying they believed he had been "misrepresented" in the interview.
-- Ujpest FC, a top Hungarian team, was fined US$23,250 (euro18,300) by the country's federation in December after its fans chanted anti-Semitic slurs during a league match.
-- AS Roma played its Feb. 8 home game at a neutral site and without spectators as punishment for its fans displaying Nazi and fascist symbols in a match against Livorno.
The sport's biggest stars aren't immune.
Spanish fans have taunted and spit at Brazil's Ronaldo, a three-time world player of the year. And Spain coach Luis Aragones was fined US$3,900 (euro3,100) after making a racist remark about Henry during an October 2004 meeting with his team.
"You look at FIFA, and you wonder if they're doing enough or if they're doing anything at all," said Beasley, the American star who has been harassed while playing for PSV Eindhoven. "But, at the same time, I look at it as, what more can they do? Who do you suspend? Do you suspend the team? Do you suspend the club as a whole? Do you suspend that one fan?"
Tough questions, to be sure. World soccer officials are searching for answers.
In March, FIFA toughened its anti-racism rules. Professional clubs will lose three points for a first offense -- whether by a fan, player or team official -- and six points for a second. Additional violations can bring disqualification from tournaments and even demotion to a lower division.
At the World Cup, teams could be penalized points for remarks by players and coaches. Though Blatter initially said teams would be held responsible for their fans' behavior, he backed off for fear spectators would use the penalties to punish the opposition.
FIFA will send its message in other ways.
A "Football Against Racism" logo will cover each field's center circle until just before kickoff. Before each quarterfinal game, team captains will read a "declaration against racism" over the public address system, and photos of teams and referees holding the Football Against Racism flag will be shown.
"Since the beginning of the preparations, this was an important issue," said Horst Schmidt, vice president of the German organizing committee.
Schmidt said he didn't believe that a recent rash of trouble in Germany was related to the World Cup. In one day two weeks ago, there were three separate attacks on people of foreign descent, with some of the thugs singing the German national anthem and shouting fascist slogans.
Overall, reports of race-related attacks in Germany rose nearly 25 percent between 2004 and 2005, from 776 to 958 incidents. Last month, a former government spokesman went so far as to suggest that minorities not visit specific cities where there has been repeated trouble.
"It's a mixed picture, really," said Piara Powar, director of Kick It Out, a London-based organization devoted to fighting racism in soccer.
"I think here in England we've done some great work and the message has got through. In other parts of Europe, there are similar good stories," he said. "But in other parts, I'm afraid it's a far more pessimistic picture."
___
Posted: Thursday June 8, 2006 10:56PM; Updated: Thursday June 8, 2006 10:56PM
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<!--endclickprintexclude-->BERLIN (AP) -- U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley has heard the ugly words, vicious taunts screamed by fans in the Netherlands simply because he is black.
Cameroon's brilliant Samuel Eto'o was so sickened by insults hurled his way that he threatened to walk off the field.
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<SCRIPT>if(cnnEnableCL){if(!(location.hostname.indexOf('cnn.com')>-1)) {cnnAddCSI('contextualLinks','/.element/ssi/misc/2.0/contextual/story.html','');}else{ cnnAddCSI('contextualLinks','http://cl.cnn.com/ctxtlink/jsp/si/cl/2.0/si-story.jsp','category=sisoccer&url=http:/\/robots.cnnsi.com/2006/soccer/specials/world_cup/2006/06/08/bc.eu.spt.soc.wcup.racism.ap/index.html&desccharcnt=100&site=cnn_sisoccer_dyn_ctxt&origin=si');}}</SCRIPT><IFRAME id=iframecontextualLinks style="VISIBILITY: hidden; POSITION: absolute" name=iframecontextualLinks align=right src="http://cl.cnn.com/ctxtlink/jsp/si/cl/2.0/si-story.jsp?domId=contextualLinks&time=1150320373937&category=sisoccer&url=http://robots.cnnsi.com/2006/soccer/specials/world_cup/2006/06/08/bc.eu.spt.soc.wcup.racism.ap/index.html&desccharcnt=100&site=cnn_sisoccer_dyn_ctxt&origin=si" width=0 height=0></IFRAME></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--endclickprintexclude-->Even Thierry Henry, one of the world's best players and a spokesman for racial tolerance, has been stung by a slur -- from Spain's coach, no less.
Soccer has struggled for years to rid itself of racism. For this World Cup in Germany, which opens on Friday with two matches, the governing body of the world's sport is making harmony a central theme.
"Football, like most sports, is combative -- you play to win. But it shouldn't have anything to do with racism or violence," said Federico Addiechi, head of a FIFA division which deals with corporate social responsibility. "The problem will not disappear in a couple of days in the World Cup, but it's important to highlight the problem when you have such a platform."
German officials who don't want racist thugs to seize that platform have planned extensive security measures following recent attacks on minorities here. FIFA is trying to do its part, making its message of tolerance a theme at matches and highlighting its commitment at a news conference prior to kickoff.
Earlier this year, FIFA president Sepp Blatter could barely hide his disappointment when he said: "It is a shame for football that in the year 2006, you still have racism."
The 32-nation competition attracts fans from all over the globe. Even researchers at the South Pole play an occasional game.
The game has the power to unite, as two first-time World Cup participants show.
Angola's team, the Black Antelopes, helped bring together warring sides during a brutal 27-year civil war. Ivory Coast's trip to Germany helped restart peace talks between rebels and the government.
That kind of harmony doesn't always extend to fans, whose passionate enthusiasm too often can be tinged with racial hatred.
Hooligans, who don't care who they beat up, get much of the attention, with violence marring both the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. But as more black and mixed-race players appear in far-flung European leagues, racism is becoming even more pervasive.
In the last year:
-- Eto'o, who stars for Spanish power FC Barcelona, could be seen mouthing "no more" after being taunted in February with monkey sounds for a second year by Zaragoza fans. The team was fined US$10,700 (euro8,400), but that didn't stop Santander fans from insulting Eto'o two months later.
-- Ivory Coast and Messina defender Marc Zoro was reduced to tears by racist slurs and boos last November from Inter Milan fans.
-- Criticizing an influx of foreign players in Ukraine, national coach Oleg Blokhin said youngsters should learn from native sons, "not some zumba-bumba whom they took off a tree, gave him two bananas and now he plays in the Ukrainian League."
-- Ghana hired a Serbian coach, Ratomir Dujkovic, who was later quoted as saying that "discipline is the biggest problem with black Africans." Ghana officials refused to fire him, saying they believed he had been "misrepresented" in the interview.
-- Ujpest FC, a top Hungarian team, was fined US$23,250 (euro18,300) by the country's federation in December after its fans chanted anti-Semitic slurs during a league match.
-- AS Roma played its Feb. 8 home game at a neutral site and without spectators as punishment for its fans displaying Nazi and fascist symbols in a match against Livorno.
The sport's biggest stars aren't immune.
Spanish fans have taunted and spit at Brazil's Ronaldo, a three-time world player of the year. And Spain coach Luis Aragones was fined US$3,900 (euro3,100) after making a racist remark about Henry during an October 2004 meeting with his team.
"You look at FIFA, and you wonder if they're doing enough or if they're doing anything at all," said Beasley, the American star who has been harassed while playing for PSV Eindhoven. "But, at the same time, I look at it as, what more can they do? Who do you suspend? Do you suspend the team? Do you suspend the club as a whole? Do you suspend that one fan?"
Tough questions, to be sure. World soccer officials are searching for answers.
In March, FIFA toughened its anti-racism rules. Professional clubs will lose three points for a first offense -- whether by a fan, player or team official -- and six points for a second. Additional violations can bring disqualification from tournaments and even demotion to a lower division.
At the World Cup, teams could be penalized points for remarks by players and coaches. Though Blatter initially said teams would be held responsible for their fans' behavior, he backed off for fear spectators would use the penalties to punish the opposition.
FIFA will send its message in other ways.
A "Football Against Racism" logo will cover each field's center circle until just before kickoff. Before each quarterfinal game, team captains will read a "declaration against racism" over the public address system, and photos of teams and referees holding the Football Against Racism flag will be shown.
"Since the beginning of the preparations, this was an important issue," said Horst Schmidt, vice president of the German organizing committee.
Schmidt said he didn't believe that a recent rash of trouble in Germany was related to the World Cup. In one day two weeks ago, there were three separate attacks on people of foreign descent, with some of the thugs singing the German national anthem and shouting fascist slogans.
Overall, reports of race-related attacks in Germany rose nearly 25 percent between 2004 and 2005, from 776 to 958 incidents. Last month, a former government spokesman went so far as to suggest that minorities not visit specific cities where there has been repeated trouble.
"It's a mixed picture, really," said Piara Powar, director of Kick It Out, a London-based organization devoted to fighting racism in soccer.
"I think here in England we've done some great work and the message has got through. In other parts of Europe, there are similar good stories," he said. "But in other parts, I'm afraid it's a far more pessimistic picture."
___
What shocks me is that they don't point out one of the more glaring examples. During an Inter Milan/AC Milan match, the Inter Milan fans chanting "N***** N***** N*****" at AC Milan's goalie Dida. Inter Milan fans are the worst, I believe that they have had to play three home matches now with no fans in attendance because of their notorious behavior. These were the same fans that hit Dida in the head with a flare.
