Football and Racism

[johnhughthom]

I suppose all the other instances of racism in Serbia in the past were the player's fault too, Sarmatian?

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.