Racism in Football

[tomav84]

So millwall have covered themselves in glory. i wish i was surprised with the number of people defending this on social media etc. worryingly i think that this lot have set a trend. they did it, so others will follow suit. i was dearly hoping to be lucky in the ballots, when the time comes, but now i'm dreading it...no doubt that someone will boo at VP when the time comes.

Quote

Some Millwall fans booed players taking a knee at the start of the Championship match against Derby County on Saturday.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55111474

[bobzy]

It's a real shame.  There are a lot of people who think this is about "a BLM organisation which encourages looting and anarchy".  Sadly, we're a very right wing country.

[Guest av1]

So rather than dealing with the fans, the players will now not be taking a knee. 

Here

 

added: “The players have released a statement together and said they don’t support it [taking the knee] as a political message but support anti-discrimination.

“Moving forward, like a lot of clubs, they would prefer not to take the knee and actually enact change.

“They want to be proactive rather than it being a gesture, which a lot of clubs are now saying is perhaps empty.

 

[tomav84]

2 minutes ago, av1 said:

So rather than dealing with the fans, the players will now not be taking a knee. 

Here

 

 

tough one. looking on social media, it's even more toxic than normal, with so, so many messages of support to millwall fans for doing it. if they continued to knee, the boos will just get louder and potentially at some stage become violent between 'clappers' and 'booers'. i know i'd have to say something if someone near me booed.

i guess they don't want headlines after every single game now for the wrong reasons. as much as they'd love to ban the fans in question, they've not technically broken the conditions of entry to the stadium so probably not grounds to ban them

[Zhan_Zhuang]

Re: 'taking the knee'....

Yes a great sentiment and cause but it is starting to become a bit tiresome I guess for some. It is unfortunate but people will revolt to it eventually, it's just the the way it is.

[MaVilla]

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Edited December 6, 2020 by MaVilla

[bobzy]

What does the BLM movement stand for at its core then @MaVilla?

[tomav84]

8 hours ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

Re: 'taking the knee'....

Yes a great sentiment and cause but it is starting to become a bit tiresome I guess for some. It is unfortunate but people will revolt to it eventually, it's just the the way it is.

nah...totally disagree here. you find something "a bit tiresome" you just sit there and accept it. booing was a clear protest against it

by the way, this was the statement made by millwall on friday:

“We wish to make clear that taking the knee, for us, is in no way representative of any agreement with political messaging or ideology. It is purely about tackling discrimination, as has been the case throughout."

they then went ahead and booed anyway...so those that booed are a bunch of racist words removed as far as i'm concerned and no one will convince me otherwise

[Genie]

Was there ever agreed end point for the kneeling? 

[tomav84]

1 minute ago, Genie said:

Was there ever agreed end point for the kneeling? 

up to the clubs. QPR have already stopped i know and one or 2 others too i think

[villa4europe]

Made a statement on Friday... They even knew that their fans would be dickheads

I do agree with their response though, is taking a knee really changing anything? At what point would they be better served going out it to their communities, schools, etc and trying to do something different, it's clear that their muppets are not going to change based on the knee so now what programmes and charities can the club use to try a different approach

And I think that's something all clubs should be doing to push for real change, the knee for awareness is great but it should be backed up by some time and effort at a local level, that would make a huge difference 

Imagine Jack grealish turning up at your school when you were 10 years old and saying "dont be a racist prick" you wouldn't forget it 

[Genie]

23 minutes ago, tomav84 said:

up to the clubs. QPR have already stopped i know and one or 2 others too i think

Basically keep doing it until it became a problem. I think for a dozen or so games and then replaced by other work in the community or social media would have been a well thought out approach. 
Now it’ll end up collapsing around the country and the groans and boos increase.

I don’t feel entirely comfortable with this political type gestures “during” the game even thought it’s a very worthwhile cause.

Edited December 6, 2020 by Genie

[The_Steve]

The FA was wrong to water down their message about Black Lives Matter and to replace it with the 'no room for racism'. There was real symbolic power by replacing names on shirts, and even, racists still put out their 'White Lives Matter' crap - which is a racist political statement in that context.

The FA needs to address racism across all levels of the game. Calling for tolerance isn't enough, the FA should be very clear that players should feel protected and safe to make these statements. Crowds should be told to be respectful. Again, it's not perfect.

Capitulating on this debate will only encourage more racist fans to do the same.

[bannedfromHandV]

13 hours ago, av1 said:

So rather than dealing with the fans, the players will now not be taking a knee. 

Here

 

 

Not wrong though, i think it’s become an empty gesture, just something that’s done for the sake of it now.

Great and powerful thing 6 months ago but unnecessary and ineffective now if you ask me.

I think it should stop, but then, I wouldn’t boo it if I was present either.

[HanoiVillan]

It's an inevitable process where an activist movement (black lives matter) become watered down and institutionalised by an intermediate body (the FA and 'no room for racism'), removing any radical demands or potential, before the operators within those intermediate bodies (in this case, Millwall), begin the process of bargaining away the need to do anything at all. 

BLM did not have particularly coherent demands of the football industry, so the energy has sapped. The only potential tangible mark of the protests in the end will be (hopefully) a somewhat enhanced awareness amongst the important people in the football industry that racism exists and is important. 

[Zatman]

I think Millwall themselves should not be tarred by this, apparently they do lots of great work in the community trying to educate about racism and other subjects. Just a pity they will always be supported by vermin because of the past

[pacbuddies]

Well done Millwall fans. BLM is an ararchist political movement intent on erasing our history and destroying the fabric of our democratic society.

[tom_avfc]

33 minutes ago, pacbuddies said:

Well done Millwall fans. BLM is an ararchist political movement intent on erasing our history and destroying the fabric of our democratic society.

I mean that’s certainly one take on this. Well done to the Millwall fans who have a history of racist chanting at their ground for booing while players take a stand against racism?

I’m not sure those people booing were protesting at the destruction of the fabric of our democratic society. I doubt most of them would even know the meaning of about four words in that sentence.

Once again everybody, well done Millwall fans.

[ChrisVillan]

They're just racist.

[Seat68]

3 hours ago, pacbuddies said:

Well done Millwall fans. BLM is an ararchist political movement intent on erasing our history and destroying the fabric of our democratic society.

Thats what some see it as, some other feel that black lives matter and at a time when britain is going through a really racist period it would be great if we looked and thought although all lives definitely matter, currently black lives are being shit on and need allies. Be that a black 20 something footballer or a 50 year old white bloke. 
What people need to separate is the message being spread on social media on what the organisation Black Lives Matter stand for versus the message away from that, that black lives matter.