04/19/24
October 11, 2002
Two teams to play next UEFA games in empty stadiums.: The Dutch team Utrecht and the Georgian team Dinamo Tbilisi have been punished for two seperate incidents of violence and racist banter from fans. UEFA, who is trying to cut back on race-related incidents at games has sent a ten-point plan to clubs whose grounds have seen racist behaviour in recent European club competition matches, calling on them to take "all necessary action" to implement measures to combat racism. I can't find that letter or the ten point plan anywhere, but is it fair for a governing body hold the clubs responsible for the behavior of their fans?
posted by Ufez Jones to soccer at 02:35 PM - 3 comments
Fans will be fans, but that doesn't mean they are completely unteachable. As someone who has played various sports in the past, I would much rather play in an empty stadium than have to hear a single racial epithet, but only in a perfect world. That being said, you have to have standards, and maybe something like this will make people sit up and recognize the problem.
posted by insomnyuk at 10:32 PM on October 12, 2002
That being said, you have to have standards, and maybe something like this will make people sit up and recognize the problem. Be that as it may, how do you draw the grey area line b/w the responsibility of the team vs. the responsibility of the fans? The guys that attacked the White Sox coach had no effect on the Sox at all. When/Where/How do you hold the indiviual team responsible?
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:37 PM on October 12, 2002
My mom used to tell me that fair was what you pay to get on a bus (get it? fare?). She insisted that the world wasn't fair. It appears that UEFA is proving my mom was right. I'm wondering if this will make any positive impact on the fans in the long run. Rest assured, it won't in the short term. I would guess that the next time the "banned" fans are admitted into the stadiums that they will be more wound up than ever-- like bees who have been swatted at. The real questions: Two or three games down the line, will these fans have "learned their lesson"? Will UEFA have the balls to do this more than once?