RACISM IN SOCCER/FOOTBALL
Racism is a big socio-political issue in the world, and it is practiced in different sectors of modern affairs such as, sporting events, school activities, work place, and day to day live in the streets. Soccer is no different than any other sports when it comes to racism. Black men and women are the most discriminated of all race and some countries and or organizations do not put in any efforts in addressing this socio-culturally immoral doings by people who have no respect for all kinds of the human race. The Italian Serie A league is one of the most racist countries/ leagues in the soccer world and black people are facing an increasingly hard time to cope with the situations they're in.
An African Italian soccer player called Kevin Prince Boateng plays for AC Milan in the Italian soccer league. When he was nine years old, he wasn't Boateng then, just a kid named Kevin with a German mother and a Ghanaian father. During an away game, the father of an opponent said, "Little n-----, for every goal you score, you're gonna get a banana." Boateng repeats those words sitting in the quiet, peaceful lounge. "It's inside of me," he says. "I will never forget the father. He had a big beard and no hair. I even remember his son. I remember the face of his son. I wanted to kick his son so hard. I didn't. I scored a goal, and we won the game. This I remember." Boateng believed if he got rich enough, if he won enough games, scored enough goals, he could outrun the bald man with the big beard. For years, he did. During his first three seasons at AC Milan, he never was abused. Then he rode a bus to Pro Patria. That day was just the beginning. A crowd at a match with Florence's team, Fiorentina, abused Balotelli. At Juventus, Boateng looked up in the stands and saw two men wearing the team's famous black-and-white jerseys making the monkey chant: Oo -- oo -- oo -- oo. Boateng yelled at them in the stands, "Come down! Do it in front of me!" Since then, he's been speaking out against racism, meeting with the head of FIFA, making a speech at the United Nations. He'd been known as a party boy, getting caught once in a nightclub the night before a game. That one day of monkey chants gave him focus, a way to honor a nine-year-old boy's fears, just as a room of sneakers honors that boy's hopes and dreams. He's troubled by the racist chants coming from the terraces, which aren't new to Italy but are to him. Every week or two, it seems there's another news story about a crowd chanting vile things at soccer players, about clubs being fined or forced to play in empty stadiums. Boateng can't figure out the reason so many seem directed at AC Milan. Why them? Why now?
Balotelli is also an AC Milan player who was born in Ghana but got adopted in Italy were he naturalized to be an Italian when he turned 18. He faces the worst racist situations in the history of soccer and his racial struggles are going viral. Outside the Siena stadium, Balotelli steps onto the AC Milan bus, which has a slick black paint job with red rearview mirrors. "The team drives out of the ancient city, already looking toward tomorrow. Football highlights play on a television on the right side, near the front. Balotelli sits in the black-and-red leather seats and exhales, already thinking about reporting to the national team in a few days." The players celebrate the spot in the Champions League, and the end of this long season in the spotlight. Balotelli takes photos with his teammates. In each of them, he grins. The joy in the back of the bus contrasts with stress in the front. Team officials had called the Florence police before leaving Siena, concerned about the reception they might receive when they exited the bus and boarded the train to Milan. They're worried. Balotelli is a target. "At the Roma game tonight, the fans abused him when they showed his name on the video board, and he wasn't even there. Then the ultras chanted oo -- oo -- oo - oo at a drinks vendor, giving themselves a round of applause when they finished." Italy is in crisis. I think that's safe to say. Something new is arising out of something old. I don't know whether it's a first breath or a last gasp. James Walston, the professor, thinks all the racial abuse is a sign that Italy has changed, and this is a defiant last stand before a multi-cultural society emerges. Maybe he's right. I don't know. The AC Milan bus pulls close to Campo di Marte station, and the mood inside changes. Through the dark windows, the team and the officials see a crowd gathered, with the police units there to keep law and order. The air brakes whoosh and squeak. The bus doors open, and the hate-filled voices flood in. "Balotelli steps outside, guarded by police, as a group of 30 Fiorentina fans call him a thief and a cheater. The players rush into the tunnel leading to the train. The racist abuse begins, and Balotelli confronts the abusers, with police and team security officials stepping in between and pulling him away. The team boards its private high-speed train, racing toward Milan." He tweets in English and Italian about leaving the pitch the next time he hears someone attack the color of his skin.
Racial problems like this have made racism in general a bigger concern in the world and organizations such as FIFA and other soccer sponsors like Nike, Adidas, and Puma are taking big measures towards erasing racism in the world of football/soccer. "Say No To Racism" banners are displayed in every professional soccer match, and more and more commercials are made to simply destroy the socio-cultural moral issue of Racism in soccer, all sports, and the world as a whole.
