Football, racism and Zidane
It’s easy for certain people to talk about how Zidane should’ve retained his composure and acted “professional” in the face of what might have been racial or other slurs coming from Materazzi. It’s often these same folks who don’t have to face the vulgar racism prevalent in pretty much all of Europe. I, for one, think it’s okay for players to lose their control and beat the shit out of racist players who make disparaging remarks about race, ethnicity, background, etc. Go for it. Headbutt them. Stamp on them. Whatever.
The onus shouldn’t be on the player to remain composed and professional. The onus should be on the racist to keep his mouth shut. The onus should be on FIFA to severely sanction racist comments, racist fans, racist coaches, racist players, etc. Stop the match, throw them out, do whatever it takes. Don’t throw Zidane off the field for headbutting Materazzi, kick Materazzi in the ass and send him off the field. Give Zidane a yellow card, for not reporting it to the ref (or whatever). Play on.
WM said,
July 13, 2006 @ 5:07 am
PLUS, I hear that many of the remarks were about his mother. You really shouldn’t say anything to Algerians about their mothers…
I don’t support France, but I do support the headbutting. I think there was serious provocation involved, or the captain of the French team would not risk the match, his career, not to mention his immortality in the history books, over a triviality.
He was certainly provoked.
And god help the Algerian immigrants in France now!!!!
gil said,
July 15, 2006 @ 1:43 pm
5 truths about Zidane:
http://screengang.com/worldcup/index-e.html