Hope you've all been well and you're settling yourselves into the Autumnal season and gearing up for your trick or treating and firework parties.
Again there has been a gap between posts and again its because at the moment Im preferring to wait until something I particularly want to vent my feelings about crops up to bore your eye holes with.
Today is Monday, now im normally a bit sad on a Monday, but today is an extra sad Monday. Despite not having to work today, and, getting out around the county with my camera for the first time in about a billion years (results below), I find myself revisiting an issue that recently I've written, spoken and argued in the pub till my throat was sore about.
Some of you may have already caught the news today, some of you may have read you favored rag, some of you may even have tuned into the most excellent Colin Murray last night on MOTD2. Yesterday was a big day in the premier league, it was Chelsea vs Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, easily the most successful ground in London in recent years. And once again what was a brilliant game for fans and neutrals alike is overshadowed by the foul ugly head of racism in sport.
No strangers to having to deal with these issues recently it was not the blue of Chelsea accused this time around, nor was the red of United on the receiving end. Black was well and truly the controversial colour this weekend as referee Mark Clattenburg is accused of using inappropriate language, including a racial slur.
Now just to clarify, at the moment, it is just an accusation. But in football there is very rarely smoke without fire in these situations, and, if what I have researched and from sources in the know are true then Chelsea player John Obi Mikel stormed into Clattenburgs dressing area after the final whistle to 'demand' an apology for he deemed to be unsuitable language during his booking, while another 'un-named' Chelsea player accuses Mr Clattenburg of using the words 'Spanish T*at'.
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| Clattenburg racially abused players? |
As a top flight official Mr Clattenburg has never shied away from the limelight, he is no stranger to controversy.
He is known by fans and players alike as a very chatty referee with a very 'matey' style of officiating, which in the past has annoyed players, managers and fellow officials.
He incensed Mark Hughes a couple of years ago by asking him 'how on earth do you put up with Craig Bellamy?' before showing the Welshman a red card, he allowed Nani a goal after spurs goalkeeper had put the ball down for a free kick, he failed to send off Kuyt for a waist high lunge and he was the referee that didnt give one of the easiest to spot goals in Premier League history.
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| Clatteenburg said 'no goal' |
On Saturday night he was one of the top FIFA officials in the world, and set to be England representative at the next 3/4 major tournaments, on Monday afternoon he will face serious inquiries that will effect his career and status.
If found guilty of these accusation there is no way on earth he should ever be allowed to officiate over another game of football, at any level. Hell I wouldn't want him to show up to run the line for my under 9s team.
After recent event in the sport is it just me that want a definitive answer in this one?
I dont want it to come down to his word against his this time, or any kind of squirming that seemingly got John Terry of the hook, I dont want him rolling out his half cousin twice removed who happens to be one fifth cherokee. Dear Football Association... sort it out!
Some people may be aware that football refs do actually wear microphones, and although these devices are not set to record they do transmit directly to all the other officials at the ground... so the two linesman and the fourth know exactly what has been said. It is their duty not just as respected officials but as human beings to come forward and tell the truth. And while we're there, just activate the microphones so that we can all hear what is being said, like they do in rugby. If this were the case im sure we could all make up our minds once and for all if any racism was taking place, it would also in my humble completely irradiate the problem of lack of respect to referees, as i doubt Rooney or Ronaldo would be so quick to tell a ref to go Fuck himself knowing that once those words are broadcast to a kazillion viewers then they would provide little draw for the Nikes and the Coke-Colas advertising teams.
After recent events in my beloved sport it is little wonder that some of the players of ethnic backgrounds have come out publicly and criticized the professional footballers associations plans and procedures for eliminating racism in the game, most noticeably the Ferdinand brothers. In fact the option has recently been raised that there should be an alternative 'black players' union option available to those that qualify.
For me this is a terrible terrible idea, surely this is only going to fan the flames of the feeble small minded minority that are currently the scourge of the modern game with their outdated racist opinions. In fact faced with the prospect of losing nearly half its members, even the PFA has taken an actual stance on an issue!! Well done! Action at last! but is it the action required? The PFA has directly consulted with victims of racism in the game and black players globally to develop what they have called a six part plan to rid the game of this most vile of hindrances. Below are the six points, with my two cents in there as well;
1--- The PFA intends to speed up the process of dealing with reported racist abuse with the close monitoring of all incidents.
This is such a wishy washy sentence that it shouldn't even be included in this report!!! You're going to speed up when dealing with it? So you're not doing everything you can at the moment? Get a grip guys, this is another situation that shouldnt crop up and wouldnt if referees were fully mic'd and the audio was broadcast and recorded. We would have a definitive yes he did or no he didnt as and when incidents occured.
2--- Stiffer penalties for those found guilty, including equality awareness for culprits and clubs involved.
:/ we are going to put grown men who earn 10s of millions of pounds a year into an equality workshop! Crumbs cheif executives. If i worked in a telesales call centre and opposite where i sit was my closest sales rival, if i went into work one day and he had beaten to me to a sale, if i called him a 'fucking ni**er'. I wouldnt not have a job to go back to the next day... the fact that this is different when youre good at football and earning a sizable salary is fucking sickening... it is the very thing that is underlined the doctorine within sport at the moment that it is okay to be a racist!
3--- a 'Rooney Rule'
Just to be clear this isnt a rule that requires all players to have ridic hair transplants and pie faced babies. The Rooney Rule was intriduced in American Football nearly a decade ago. It basically ensures that african american are considered for high profile roles within the sport. It is directly responsible for an 18% rise in the amount of coaches who are of ethnic minority within the sport. Its application to Britain would be beneficial, as it is at grass roots level that idiots get their chance to be idiots and having more minorities in positions would begin to eliminate these morons.
4--- Proportions of black and minority coaches to be monitored more carefully and gaps to be highlighted accordingly.
as above
5--- Racial abuse to be considered 'gross misconduct' in both player and coach contracts.
We're so close there to an actual plan, making something "potentially" a sack able offence isn't good enough. High profile players would still carry favor with owners and fans. Having it a legal requirement to be written into the contracts of all players, coaches, officials that anyone found guilty of racial abuse at a criminal level WILL be immediately relieved of duties, maybe a bit more decisive??
6--- Not lose sight of other potentially discriminatory issues such as gender, sexual orientation, disability etc
Rather typically the PFA cover their own arses by letting us know that no other issues are currently cropping up in professional football... just the mass racism then?
Oh how many gay professional footballers are there again?
Six ways to save football?
Its a start at least.
Below you can read an open letter to the Football Association, thats I have personally compiled.
The Professional Footballers Association
20 Oxford Court
Bishopsgate
Manchester
M2 3 WQ
To Whom it may Concern,
Sadly, I am not a professional footballer, no amount of keepy uppies or practicing my autograph have ever led me to this path in life.
But I am lucky enough to be involved with my local club in a coaching capacity, in particular, for the junior teams.
I am writing to inform you of a very regrettable incident which occurred recently while my very successful under 10's team were playing in one of their regular league fixtures. As is not unusual in these games it was a very high scoring affair with both teams giving everything for the win, as the game entered its dying moments the referee (who is a volunteer colleague and very good friend of mine) failed to give a free kick for what seemed an obvious foul on our 'star' player. As the game played on I could scarcely believe my own ears when I heard my own player while getting up from the tackle shout a racial slur at the perpetrator of the foul. For a moment I was in complete shock, I ran it through my head time and time again maybe Id misheard? As the game ended only moments later, I immediately approached the opposition coach and the referee to query what Id heard, the referee was unaware but both the opposition coach and the player involved confirmed to my horror what Id heard.
The action I took was immediate. The player involved was called to me along with his parents immediately, before they had even reached the changing rooms, and while the rest of the team bantered about a well earned draw while getting changed I explained in detail to the child and parent why this type of language is unacceptable and how let down I felt by the incident. As most people with experience of children will agree at times they simply do not care when they are being told off, neither did the parents. As this was apparent the course of action for me was limited... both parents and child were told under no cicumstances would the boy be playing football for the team again this season, if he wished to return next season it would be down to whomever took charge then, as well as this I would be recommending that he be removed from the county squad under the same circumstances and his school would also be informed of this, so they can decide on whether he would continue to represent them in the sport.
Harsh. Yes. Uncalled for? No.
No doubt the severity of the term he used was somewhat lost on the boy as he only recently heard and read of his hero Mr Luis Suarez using the term. No doubt in my mind either that if he returns to the club (which im sure he will, as his parents now face a near 1hr commute 3 times a week to get him to and from a club that will allow him to play) the time he has spent away from his friends and the environment we strive to create here, the severity will have dawned upon him.
I apologise for the tangent.
Dear PFA if professional footballers are going to take it upon themselves to act like ignorant children then treat them like ignorant children!
Kind Regards
Mark Steven Dalgleish
(Dreamt of being a Professional Footballer)
The letter was sent on monday the 29th of October 2012
oh and these... enjoy these;
And this
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