These events are supposed to be summer carnivals, festivals of football, yet supporters keep being sent to far-flung destinations with serious security problems
When Oleh Blokhin was in his first spell as manager of the Ukraine national team, the former Dynamo Kyiv striker and 1975 European Footballer of the Year famously had this to say about black players coming to ply their trade in his country …
"The more Ukrainians there are playing in the national league, the more examples there are for the younger generation. Let them learn from Blokhin or Shevchenko, not some zumba-bumba who they took off a tree, gave two bananas and now he plays in the Ukrainian league."
That was back in 2006, and it was fairly widely reported and discussed, so it should not come as a shock to anyone that Ukraine has a problem with attitudes to race and ethnicity. It was mildly shocking that Blokhin, one of the most famous, well-travelled and cosmopolitan products of Ukraine football should state the case so bleakly, and one shudders to think what the views of the average fan in the stand might be, though it is hardly a secret that much of eastern Europe appears to think the same way, partly due to a lack of a colonial history and therefore a limited exposure to black faces and culture.
But it is Ukraine that is jointly hosting the European Championship this summer, and Ukraine that is being declared unsafe by Sol Campbell, who left it rather late in the day to advise fans not to book tickets but to stay at home, and by implication by the families of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who have decided to follow their offsprings' progress on television, rather than risk the sort of open hostility and palpably inadequate policing that Panorama highlighted so effectively this week. In the latter case, one could hardly blame them. Even if security can be guaranteed in the stands and on the streets for the parents, the likelihood remains that black players on the pitch will be subject to monkey chants or other forms of abuse.
Campbell, on the other hand, did not appear to be directly addressing the race issue, but suggesting Ukraine is a dangerous place for anyone to go. His argument was supported by what may have been selective evidence produced by the Panorama programme, though in this correspondent's personal experience, old-fashioned football aggro of the type that made stadiums here such menacing places in the 70s and 80s is much more prevalent in Poland than Ukraine.
At risk of over-simplifying, white football fans are unlikely to encounter much trouble in Ukraine unless they are looking for it, while black visitors probably will excite interest – let's leave it at that – due to their unfamiliarity. Whereas Poland has a hoolie element. Doubtless the authorities will be doing their best to screen out troublemakers from Euro 12 games, but it is normally true that Polish football venues can be the more intimidating if you are identified as an away fan. Colour has nothing to do with it.
In terms of dangerous places to go, however, neither Poland nor Ukraine is likely to match Russia, who will host the 2018 World Cup. Uefa is said to be belatedly learning lessons in the light of the Ukraine fiasco, where hotels are offering absurdly exorbitant prices to fans who do not want to come anyway, but the next World Cup in Europe seems destined to be another hard sell. These events are supposed to be summer carnivals, festivals of football, yet supporters keep being sent to far-flung destinations with serious security problems.
Would it not be better to bring in a rule that says you cannot host a major tournament unless you are already a major holiday destination? That way you would already have your transport and hotel infrastructure in place, people would be familiar with how to find you, and there would be no shortage of entertainment or things for visitors to do on the days when there is no football.
Unfortunately playing every event in Italy, France, Portugal or Greece would not really be fair or democratic in terms of Uefa's membership, and it ought to be borne in mind that one of the reasons Ukraine has invested such vast sums in the Euro 2012 project – the stadiums are absolutely amazing even if some of the roads and airports are still being finished – is because the country wants to open itself up to European tourism. It was hoping to make a commercial breakthrough as joint host of the European Championship, and so will be bitterly disappointed by the negative publicity of the past few days.
While the negative publicity over hotel prices, scarcity of accommodation and even an outbreak of measles was put down to western exaggeration and lies, the latest bout of unfortunate headlines may be interpreted as western superciliousness. A possibly misplaced superciliousness at that, for no country in Europe has an unblemished record on race, least of all one that has just seen its captain deposed and its head coach depart over an alleged racial slight. Spain has long had issues, too, best summed up by Luis Aragonés's woeful attempts to defend himself when overheard describing Thierry Henry as "a black shit" in a training ground conversation with José Antonio Reyes. "Reyes is ethnically a Gyspy," the then Spain manager said. "All I did was to motivate the Gypsy by telling him he was better than the black."
Holland and France's racial divisions are equally well-known, Mario Balotelli has had bananas thrown at him in Italy, never mind Poland and Ukraine – though his threat to kill anyone who tries it at Euro 2012 has undoubtedly upped the ante ahead of the tournament – and it is less than 10 years since practically the whole crowd at an England match in this country could clearly be heard chanting: "I'd rather be a Paki than a Turk." In short, no one is perfect. Three Nigerians can be found in the Dynamo Kyiv squad, in addition to five Brazilians and a Moroccan, which may upset Blokhin (now back in charge of the national team) but does not seem to indicate a backward or insular approach. Football is often at the front line of racial issues, because in many cases it is responsible for bringing different nationalities and cultures into arenas where they have never been encountered before.
Bananas, bigots and hate mobs always make a good story – they did in this country 30 or 40 years ago – but the strength of the game is in transcending all that to change perceptions, allow appreciation of remarkable talents, and generally open more doors than it closes. There may be trouble ahead, though probably not as much as is being suggested, but there are plenty of big games and great players in prospect too. International football – the clue is in the title – ought to be big enough to cope. Read More
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