Today on CNN I heard a story of the Croatian football association being fined a rather large sum of money because during a football game played in Croatia between the national teams of England and Croatia, a group of apparently Croatian fans made some “ape like sounds” at a black English player during the game. Of course the case was not one of objects being hurled at this player in the form of glass bottles or other such objects which may cause bodily harm or him being waited outside the stadium by a group of angry fans ready to do more then just hurl what in my opinion are such idiotic gestures as to not even deserve to be mentioned but of him being verbally taunted.
However despite there not having been any violence of a physical nature directed toward this black player the Croatian football association was fined by the European Football Association for the actions of a few individuals who if one looks at it from a legal point of view did nothing but express a certain point of view. After all is freedom of speech not the right of individuals to have and express their opinions, regardless of what those may be or should this freedom be exclusive to those who in no way shape or form offend, speak eloquently and well of others? Is this what freedom of speech is to become, a right that is denied to those simply because their views might be racially offensive toward some?
I for my part do not approve or disapprove for that matter of what these fans expressed in Croatia or any where else where such “ape like sounds” are made against black players such as Spain but my approval or lack of which is not my point. My point is to express that I find such fines by UEFA and the FIFA to be unfair, illogical and worst of all as an infringement on freedom of speech. Unfair and illogical because they punish an organization for the actions of those who are not even under their control; as how could the Croatian football association control what fans shout at the players and what should they do once such shouting starts? Should they eject them from the stadium simply because they shouted out something that a player might have found offensive; though they did not cause or attempt to cause bodily harm on that player? Should those fans be arrested for such “insults”, if they could even find who they were? To my mind if no one else’s this represents the same logic as if the United States government were to be fined for my actions should I commit a crime simply because I am an American citizen though the United States had no part in my illegal actions not that such actions by the Croatian fans should even be considered as illicit.
Of course this taking in to consideration that many a football player has had insults hurled at him where nothing was done to the fans or teams they supported as was the case with Portuguese international Luis Figo when playing a game for Real Madrid in Barcelona. It was on that day where fans called Luis Figo, a “whore”, a “mercenary” and many such words along with showing blown up dolls made to look like him on which they performed absence gestures. All because Luis Figo had been recently transferred from FC Barcelona to their arch rivals Real Madrid for 57 Million USD. Naturally, this not being a deal in which FC Barcelona did not benefit from or that it was even Luis Figo who had had a choice but to go since Barcelona accepted by their own free will to sell him. One might even say that in Luis Figo’s case the incident was worse for the fans in Barcelona’s Neu Camp did not limit themselves to the kind of violence of gestures and shouts but to the physical kind. This being the case as bottles and other objects were thrown at him or perhaps it is only not acceptable to make racial insults but other kinds are acceptable even when accompanied by physical violence. With the Luis Figo incident; insult was added to injury when the president of FC Barcelona excused his fans’ behavior and even attempted to justify it by saying that it was Luis Figo himself who provoked them by taking his time while taking a corner kick. All the time implying that it was Luis Figo’s fault fans were showering him with not only words but objects which contrary to words are more difficult to ignore and can even cause bodily harm of the deadly kind.
Ultimately we could ask several questions; the first being will fining football federations for the actions of their fans stop their fans from making racially derogatory comments or slurs as it is not the fans who are being fined but their countries federation? The second being what should or what can these federations do to prevent fans from shouting racially motivated insults at players, though it would appear that those of another nature are acceptable or at least more tolerated? However to my mind the most important issue here is weather or not freedom of speech is being violated by these fines which try to prevent people from expressing their points of view, which in a democratic society should not be denied anybody even those whose points of view are racist or at least as far as real democracy is concerned.
Freedom of “speech and expression” by definition at least in the United States which is the country I am from is the right to have and express one’s opinion, no matter what that opinion may be. This being the case regardless of weather those opinions be intelligent or not or weather they be offensive to others or not. Of course always taking in to deliberation that what some may consider as offensive others may not. As an example of this we may take the case of whites in the southern parts of the United States who took offense to the claim being made by some during the 60s that blacks should have the same equal rights as they did. “Same rights” meaning the one to vote, send their children to the same schools, eat in the same restaurants and others. This to some may not be offensive language but to many a white in the southern part of the United States, very few things could have been more offensive then being told that a Negro was equal to a Caucasian; which in other words meant being their equal. After all to them Negroes (Or Afro-Americans as is the term which is being used now a days) were those who for many years had been slaves and had been looked upon as being “inferior” to them and now they were being told that those who at one time in history had been their property; much like their own cattle were now their equals. This to many was simply unacceptable and even insulting but such talk had to be allowed simply because it was protected by the first amendment of the constitution which gives the right to freedom of speech to all regardless of content.
This which I say I do so not to claim that the idea of blacks being equal to whites is offensive or that it is not for that matter as this is not the point of my argument but what is, is to demonstrate how what one individual or group of which may find perfectly logical another individual or group of which may find insulting. Having accepted this as factual; as that is what it is we can be guided to the conclusion that if speech or expressions could banned simply because they might be offensive to some, then there in fact is very little if anything that would not be censored.
As for the report I heard on CNN regarding this incident the news reporter went on to claim that such behavior by the Croatian fans was “appalling”, making me ask what ever happened to the concept of reporting the news while leaving out personal comments and limiting oneself to the facts? Naturally like most reporters who are not content to simply tell the news this sports commentator had to throw his two cents worth (this perhaps even over valuing his opinion) that such incidents of racism were “common” in the east as one of its players stated that the north side of London was dangerous because it was mostly black. After having made this comment this same reporter went on to say that such reactions could be attributed to “education”, or lack of it as this is what he probably meant. This to be interpreted in an indirect way that because of the chants of a few individuals who might have done so to disturb a players concentration on the field (though inflicting no real harm) and the comments of one football player from the east; all of the east of Europe is racist and lacking in education. This all being said by a man who was calling the people of Croatia as racist while he himself was making racist comments about all those from the eastern part of Europe solely based on the actions of a select few in a football stadium and the comments of one football player. I wonder why this man is not made to pay a fine if the same rules are to be enforced or are such comments acceptable when made by a commentator on CNN?
No Comments Found