Quote:
That's the reason racism is punished severely these days. There's no way flares would've been banned if the hooligans hadn't used them; the fire hazard excuse is lame. And there's no way racism would've been punished so severely if not for the actions of idiot fans three deades ago.
In short: racism is banned because it's a measure to contain unwanted elements and make football attractive to a wider audience, not because of it's inherent characteristics.
Well, fact No.1 is that football is sport for the unwashed masses. Sure, there are yuppies who think it's cool to see a football game nowadays, but the sport is primarily watched by lower and middle class. That was true 150 years ago and is true today. What we're talking about here is not hooliganism but but general rude behavior. Regardless how much an extremely intelligent man that I am can found boos and jeers directed at teenagers distasteful, it is, was and will be a part of football. What you don't do is provoke an audience even more.
Quote:
And a final word: eastern europe is now on the bottom of the heap when it comes to fan retardism. Serbia, and most famously Red Star, are among the most retarded of the bunch. May they burn the lot of 'em, noone needs their neanderthal brains around a football stadium. Send them to Siberia instead.
You are a kind and smart man, sir, and I hope football gods hear you. Hopefully Red Star will go the way of Rangers with cca. 65M debt.
Quote:
Here in Northern Ireland we like to bury our head in the sands too. The IFA and Norn Irn fans pretend that Windsor Park is not a sectarian cesspit anymore, and Catholics should not feel intimidated at international matches. It's not as bad as it was before, but sectarian chanting is still rife.
edit: You're probably going to ask what that has to do with Serbia. Well, about ten years ago there was an incident where a Catholic Northern Ireland player received death threats and abuse from the crowds. I heard the same sort of arguments then, 'oh plenty of Catholic players play for Northern Ireland' 'some of our most popular players are Catholic' 'it's his attitude, not his religion, he doesn't seem to care about playing for Northern Ireland'. I was at the matches, the abuse was nothing to do with any perceived lack of effort, it was animal hatred, pure and simple. As for the 'herd mentality', absolute garbage. Individuals choose how they behave, I was surrounded by people shouting sectarian abuse and was able to refrain from following. Admittedly, I didn't raise an objection, but I like my kneecaps the way they are.
That is a very different issue. Northern Ireland has seen a lot of violence and there still is some bad blood between Protestants and Catholics.