Having witnessed the sickening scene of hundreds of Huns subjecting Celtic's Bobo Balde to racist taunts in last Sunday's (10/3) old firm fixture I am reminded that Neanderthal attitudes are alive and well in Scottish football. These Rangers fans are probably the same ones who heaped opprobrium on that Celtic supporting idiot who performed that aeroplane impersonation in front of Claudio Reyna immediately after the September 11th atrocity last year. Hypocrisy is clearly part of the fabric of Scottish life in general, and football in particular.
I remember well the adoration of Rangers supporters towards Mark Walters and the Celtic fans taunting him with monkey sounds and bananas, real and inflated. Indeed local Glasgow folklore has it that the local fruitmarket at Blochairn (not far from Parkhead) actually sold out of bananas to Celtic fans going to the Old Firm game when Walters first played there. Graham Spiers, in a recent article in the Herald called all this “convenience prejudices”, a particularly apposite phrase I think.
Any talk of racism where the old firm are concerned cannot escape that equally despicable fact of sectarianism which permeates the air whenever the two meet. One feeds off the other, two sides of the same coin, so the cycle continues; any excuse for a bit of hatred towards the enemy. So we haven't been able to provide solutions for sectarianism but can we avoid racism catching a foothold among the supporters of the other Scottish clubs? A great conflagration of racism among these fans may make the old firm sectarian nonsense seem like a Sunday school picnic. How can we prevent it becoming a possibility?
In contrast to the events at Ibrox, last weekend saw Dundee FC display support for the Show Racism the Red Card pressure group by putting on a multi cultural music event prior to their game with Aberdeen. Congratulations to them for that but, unfortunately, at that same game someone was ejected from the Directors box for shouting racist abuse. Unbelievable, isn't it? However, all clubs should show consistent support for this group in order to publicise the unacceptability of holding racist views, making sure that those who do hold such opinions are manifestly out on a limb and complete social outcasts in a modern country.
My own experience at Tannadice recently proves that racist attitudes are all around us. During one game two adults with young children constantly shouted at black players to get back to the jungle, calling them niggers, black bastards etc. and generally made a complete fool of themselves. What effect was this having on their children? As I was with my son I challenged this behaviour, as another fan did, but this had no real effect. In fact they seemed to be astonished that we were complaining about it. I pointed out that it offended me and, at the very least, they could be arrested and charged with inciting racial hatred. It is a criminal offence! Although I didn't say so at the time I decided to report them to the club if I heard such remarks again. So far I have not had to do this, thank goodness.
Other United fans I have talked to have experienced this sort of abuse as well, so it is not an isolated incident. This worries me, to think that this kind of attitude may be prevalent, albeit among a very small minority of Arabs.
I contend that racism should not be quietly ignored and excused as innocent, harmless fun ingrained into the social fabric of the country. It must be challenged whenever it occurs, not in an aggressive way but subtly, pointing out that it is offensive to all peoples and reflects poorly on the individual holding those views. Some people may say “Why bother? It doesn't affect me”. Well I say that it does affect everybody. If it is allowed to flourish racism will prove to be a virulent disease which will turn ordinary football supporters into savages. Witnessing fans jumping up and down in their seats imitating primates in front of a black player clarifies for this writer the full horror of racism brought to life. Ask yourself who the “superior” beings are.
I have suggested that these attitudes must be challenged but what else can be done? Clearly each club has a duty to educate their fans and to weed out persistent offenders at their own ground and make sure that they are not welcome back. Public endorsement of the Show Racism the Red Card group at regular intervals must also take place. Supporters clubs must make it clear that racism is
unacceptable and convince anyone who displays such attitudes that it is a thoroughly objectionable stance to take. Peer pressure is always effective. If this does not work then they should be ejected from the club, making it impossible for them to travel to games on supporters' busses or get tickets for big games.
Don't let Scotland become a social and cultural backwater. Kick racism and racists out of football for good. After all racism demeans us all.