Christian Benteke

[villa89]

1 hour ago, Stevo985 said:

Hell of an accusation to throw at him to be honest.

It's not really, plenty of African players have been lying about their age for years or more often simply don't know how old they are. It's no mystery when some of them plummet in level when they get to their "late 20's".

Edited December 21, 2018 by villa89

[TheAuthority]

8 hours ago, jim said:

The new Michael Ricketts...

Give me a break.

[TheAuthority]

48 minutes ago, villa89 said:

It's not really, plenty of African players have been lying about their age for years or more often simply don't know how old they are. It's no mystery when some of them plummet in level when they get to their "late 20's".

You may want to reassess how that comes across. Lumping "African" players together in that manner could be interpreted as a dog whistle.

[villa89]

59 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

You may want to reassess how that comes across. Lumping "African" players together in that manner could be interpreted as a dog 

It's not just African players but also South american players and players from less developed countries. The reason i put african in the post is that benteke is from africa and we know african players have had false ages in the past. The advantages of understating your age when you come to Europe are obvious so I won't bother starting them. For a lot of immigrants, not just footballers, they simply don't know how old they are or they understate how old they are. If stating that is racist then I give up. 

In benteke's case he is from one of the poorest countries in the world, it's not beyond the realms of reason that his stated age is not correct and it would explain both his Achilles injury and his fall off in production on the pitch. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by villa89

[Keyblade]

He came to Belgium when he was 3. Really hard for someone to fake being 3 years old. I guess he could have been 4, or maybe even 5 at a push if you want to insinuate that he lied about his age? Hardly would have made him an old man in 2014, when he got injured.

Just assuming he was lying about his age without even looking at the facts, simply because he's of African descent is racist, sorry.

[TheAuthority]

Just the blatant assumption of any wrongdoing because he's of African descent is typical of ingrained racial thinking that is far too prevalent and pretty insidious.

The facts are he's lived the majority of his life in Europe, he was great for us, his big move flopped, he's had bad injuries and lost complete confidence.

If those things lead you to conclude that he has always been lying about his age and that your concluding evidence is "those Africans have been doing it for years" then it sounds pretty racist. Even if that is not your intent

 

[Keyblade]

Why couldn't he just have gotten injured? Why does there have to be something nefarious behind it? 

[TheAuthority]

2 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

Why couldn't he just have gotten injured? Why does there have to be something nefarious behind it? 

That's the narrative. If a white European gets caught cheating it's a one off. Black player from Africa = they're all at it.

I wonder what the actual percentage is of African players in the top European leagues who's age was not correct. To assume/conclude that Benteke is lying about his age you would have top say that number must be at least what, 40%? 50% ? of African players are lying.

I bet the number of cases in the world football is probably far less than 1%.

[Zatman]

2 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

That's the narrative. If a white European gets caught cheating it's a one off. Black player from Africa = they're all at it.

I wonder what the actual percentage is of African players in the top European leagues who's age was not correct. To assume/conclude that Benteke is lying about his age you would have top say that number must be at least what, 40%? 50% ? of African players are lying.

I bet the number of cases in the world football is probably far less than 1%.

Not saying they all do it but  I have heard of a story of one very high profile African player who played with a friend's cousin at under 16. the cousin is in his 40s and the player is still playing today

 

[Keyblade]

15 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

That's the narrative. If a white European gets caught cheating it's a one off. Black player from Africa = they're all at it.

I wonder what the actual percentage is of African players in the top European leagues who's age was not correct. To assume/conclude that Benteke is lying about his age you would have top say that number must be at least what, 40%? 50% ? of African players are lying.

I bet the number of cases in the world football is probably far less than 1%.

Obafemi Martins did it (is there even proof apart from the fact that he looks old? Charlie Adam and Glen Whelan are both reportedly only 33/34 despite looking like they remember WW2... where are the stereotypes?), so obviously all of them do it...even if they can't even remember the motherland, that's how long they've been away.

Also Africa has the most countries of any continent as well as being the most diverse continent in the world, but apparently all Africans are the same. It's BS.

Edited December 21, 2018 by Keyblade

[TheAuthority]

Just now, Keyblade said:

 Charlie Adam and Glen Whelan are both reportedly only 33/34 despite looking like they remember WW2...

I lol'd.

Agree with the rest of your post too especially this.

1 minute ago, Keyblade said:

Also Africa has the most countries of any continent as well as being the most diverse continent in the world, but apparently all Africans are the same. It's BS.

 

[Dr_Pangloss]

2 hours ago, Keyblade said:

He came to Belgium when he was 3. Really hard for someone to fake being 3 years old. I guess he could have been 4, or maybe even 5 at a push if you want to insinuate that he lied about his age? Hardly would have made him an old man in 2014, when he got injured.

Just assuming he was lying about his age without even looking at the facts, simply because he's of African descent is racist, sorry.

Beat me to it, the suggestion is a total load of bollocks.

[Xela]

I reckon Kanu was definitely older, I think even old 'Arry said something that sort of confirms it. Roger Milla's age definitely changed over the years as well. 

I still think its rare though... a handful of potential cases. 

 

[A'Villan]

It's a misconception. I'm not sure it's racist.

I play basketball with hundreds of men of African heritage and have openly been told by few that there age on paper is not their actual age. It does happen though.

I would say that @TheAuthority guessing that it would be 1% would be in line with my experience from the number of men who told me of their situation.

[VillaJ100]

I don't think it's anything to do with being black or African or whatever more to do with being a refugee. Also administration and record keeping in the rural Congo isn't exactly bang on. 

[Stevo985]

On 21/12/2018 at 16:24, villa89 said:

It's not really, plenty of African players have been lying about their age for years or more often simply don't know how old they are. It's no mystery when some of them plummet in level when they get to their "late 20's".

These guys said it better than I could:

22 hours ago, Keyblade said:

He came to Belgium when he was 3. Really hard for someone to fake being 3 years old. I guess he could have been 4, or maybe even 5 at a push if you want to insinuate that he lied about his age? Hardly would have made him an old man in 2014, when he got injured.

Just assuming he was lying about his age without even looking at the facts, simply because he's of African descent is racist, sorry.

 

21 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

Just the blatant assumption of any wrongdoing because he's of African descent is typical of ingrained racial thinking that is far too prevalent and pretty insidious.

The facts are he's lived the majority of his life in Europe, he was great for us, his big move flopped, he's had bad injuries and lost complete confidence.

If those things lead you to conclude that he has always been lying about his age and that your concluding evidence is "those Africans have been doing it for years" then it sounds pretty racist. Even if that is not your intent

 

 

[Genie]

19 hours ago, Xela said:

I reckon Kanu was definitely older, I think even old 'Arry said something that sort of confirms it. Roger Milla's age definitely changed over the years as well. 

I still think its rare though... a handful of potential cases. 

 

The thing with Kanu, if he was a lot older than he said he was wouldn’t he have retired relatively young? In fact the opposite was the case.

[Stevo985]

2 hours ago, VillaJ100 said:

I don't think it's anything to do with being black or African or whatever more to do with being a refugee. Also administration and record keeping in the rural Congo isn't exactly bang on. 

But as Keyblade said, he moved to Belgium when he was 3. Where presumably he had to be registered or recorded or whatever. 

He could probably have been 4 or 5 at a push but beyond that he isn’t going to pass as a 3 year old. So even if it was true, which I would bet good money on that it isn’t, then it’s unlikely he’s more than a year or two older than he says he is. 

But as others have said, the accusation with no evidence other than an anecdotal tale, is a bit of a low blow, to put it politely. 

[Skruff]

Apparently it is a problem. Which lead to PSG creating a baffling scouting approach. The story has caught surprsingly little traction.  

Quote

Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed that their scouts illegally racially profiled young players as part of their recruitment process.

They were asked to list whether the youngsters were French, north African, West Indian or African, allegedly in order to limit the number of black recruits, according to the investigative news website Mediapart, citing documents from the Football Leaks dossier.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/nov/08/paris-saint-germain-racial-profiling-black-players

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2018 by Skruff

[jim]

3 goals in last 45 PL appearances, he really is shite.