Platini: “When there are racial incidents, the referee should call off the game.”
UEFA President Michel Platini is talking about racism. Again. It’s the same old problem: Fans racially abusing the players.
And so I expected the same old response. Hand-wringing, and “oh, yes, it’s awful,” and “of course, no player should have to endure that.”
That’s part of what he said, of course.
“I admit that it is virtually impossible to completely eliminate this problem,” said the Euro 84 legend. “But we have an obligation to combat this phenomenon through demonstrations and development programmes.
But what he also said?
“When there are racial incidents, the referee should call off the game.”
Wow.
One time would probably solve the problem, once and for all.
But do UEFA really have the cojones to do this in a major tournament?
Related Posts
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
|
Comments


Yeah right they would have the balls to do that, and if they did, we would not have any more soccer games.




Unfortunately, I have to agree. I don’t think it’s practical, unless the bar for racial taunting is set pretty high. A single word screamed from the stands is so hard to prove and document … it’s just very difficult. I certainly think that the ref should have the option of stopping a match to deal with an incident / throw out the fan or even the section if a large group is doing it, but realistically, I can’t see games being abandoned for this. Unfortunately, some people would probably also take advantage of the rule and use it strategically to get matches abandoned that their team would have lost.




I’m not Jewish or any of the other groups that were singled out by the Nazis, nor was I alive during World War II. However, something about seeing even a PART of that symbol creeps me out. The interesting thing is, that the swastika used to be a common symbol of luck and / or military distinction. Aside from ruining a great type of mustache, Hitler also turned a once distinguished symbol into something that still, to this day, chills bones. PS, I agree with Luisão and Ian on the lack of pragmatism in this effort.
Posted from
United States




Bureaucracy can suck my ass. If a guy calls a guy a monkey, don’t suspend him. Let him get his ass kicked.
Posted from
Canada




Greg, I picked that photo because it shocked me also. In this case I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Posted from
United States




It really is a shame that the symbol was stolen along with so many other things by the Nazis. Ideally, I’m with Sam, and wish that the other people in the stands would handle this by just beating the everloving crap out of whoever acts like this. The problem arises when a large number of fans are involved, and as much as we hate to think about it, that does happen quite a bit.




Laurie, well said.
Posted from
United States


Comments are closed
Send Your Tips!
Email tips[at]worldcupblog[dot]org
Euro 2008 Club Football News
- Nightmarish Words for Barca Fans
- Toronto Does Their Best to Pack the MLS All-Star Team
- Photo of the Day: Riot Practice
- One Aston Villa Fan's email to Gareth Barry...
- Daily Dose, 07.03.08
More Euro 2008 Blogs
Austria Euro 2008 Blog
70 Articles | 84 Comments
Croatia Euro 2008 Blog
169 Articles | 1,711 Comments
Czech Republic Euro 2008 Blog
196 Articles | 317 Comments
France Euro 2008 Blog
666 Articles | 7,097 Comments
Germany Euro 2008 Blog
428 Articles | 2,710 Comments
Greece Euro 2008 Blog
11 Articles | 24 Comments
Italy Euro 2008 Blog
359 Articles | 12,712 Comments
Netherlands Euro 2008 Blog
1,351 Articles | 13,182 Comments
Poland Euro 2008 Blog
182 Articles | 1,031 Comments
Portugal Euro 2008 Blog
405 Articles | 6,240 Comments
Romania Euro 2008 Blog
35 Articles | 249 Comments
Russia Euro 2008 Blog
17 Articles | 86 Comments
Spain Euro 2008 Blog
185 Articles | 1,423 Comments
Sweden Euro 2008 Blog
150 Articles | 318 Comments
Switzerland Euro 2008 Blog
175 Articles | 301 Comments
Turkey Euro 2008 Blog
24 Articles | 254 Comments
UEFA Euro 2008 Championships
546 Articles | 7,231 Comments
Monthly Archives
World 







