On 15th October 2011, Liverpool and Manchester United completed a frenetic, hot-tempered draw at Anfield. Hours later, Liverpool’s Uruguayan striker, Luis Suarez, was accused of using racist language towards United’s Patrice Evra during the match, where the two had been involved in various duals throughout the 90 minutes.
Little over a month later, Suarez was charged by the FA for racist conduct. In December his punishment of a £40,000 fine (which is, let’s face it, pittance for a Premier League footballer) and an eight match ban was issued.
Quite simply there was no getting away from it. Stories, columns, opinions, blogs all swept in to condemn or defend the Liverpool star. Newspapers ran headlines such as “RACIST”, English journalists publicly condemning Suarez and his alleged behaviour, whilst everyone involved with Liverpool responded with nothing but staunch defence of their striker.
This was the news, day in day out. Everybody knew the hearing dates, everyone had an opinion, everyone knew the statements from both parties, and there wasn’t a single person in football, outside of Liverpool, who doubted the Uruguayan was guilty.
John Terry’s trial started yesterday.
As someone who makes it his business to be up to date in all the goings-on of the football world, I was shocked when, on the 8th July, the day before Terry’s trial, talk of the Englishman’s hearing quietly broke out on Twitter. Football fans and journalists appeared just as taken aback as I that the hearing for Chelsea’s captain was as close as it was.
In fact, the mainstream English media had strangely failed to bring it to light.
John Terry was accused of hurling racist abuse at QPR defender Anton Ferdinand in Chelsea’s game at Loftus Road on October 23rd. This week, Terry took to the stand to defend himself against the accusations.
On the BBC sports website, the story of Terry’s hearing remained the main article for all of an hour, before it was announced that Manchester City’s manager, who won the league last season, had a new contract at the club. But let’s rewind shall we? Because this isn’t the first instance of the English Media or anyone else attempting to hush up the story of the beloved, lionhearted captain’s “slip of the tongue”.
Despite the fact that Terry’s incident only took place 8 days after Luis Suarez’s, the Englishman did not need to face up to his charge in 2011. In fact, the hearing was postponed until the end of the Euro’s, so Terry could go and represent his country in some football matches, which clearly takes priority over a criminal charge.
In the weeks leading up to the tournament in Poland/Ukraine, the English Media ran several stories on the racist overtones in the host nations. People were in outcry as they watched Panorama, taking to social networking sites in horror at what they had seen. How could a country with an undercurrent of racism host an international football tournament?
Never mind that the flag bearer for our nation’s football team was due to face a criminal charge for racist abuse when he returned from the Euro’s. Never mind that we consistently see black players abused by crowd members in our own country and that in the last season there have been two high profile, top league players accused of being racist towards another player.
On Suarez’s return from his ban, he was criticised for every possible misstep in matches, and despite his obvious talent, the English media firmly strayed from praising him.
John Terry was in the majority of English journalist’s team of the tournament for Euro 2012. Each performance was greeted with a barrage of praise at Terry’s power, his leadership, his bravery, his heart. Weeks after a TV channel aired a program exposing the racist activity in Poland and Ukraine, the same channel used John Terry, a man charged with racist abuse, as the figurehead for an emotional montage promoting England’s matches.
The fact is, whether John Terry is guilty of racism or not, he should not be representing our country in football until the matter is resolved. He should not have been at Euro 2012, unless the hearing had taken place before and he had been found innocent.
With the severity of Luis Suarez’s punishment, the FA showed that stopping racism was important to them. With the delay of John Terry’s hearing, they showed that winning Euro 2012 was more important.
Fast forward to today, and the media have been nothing short of embarrassing. The lack of mainstream coverage of the John Terry trial smacks of this horrible sickness that has enveloped this country. We’re not racist, you are.
Where Suarez was charged quickly, despite their being no witnesses and no evidence, Terry is yet to receive a charge nearly 8 months after the incident, which can be seen clearly on Youtube.
It’s like a mutated form of patriotism, an ignorance that has infested itself in football.
We’re perfectly happy to condemn racism, but if it’s one of our own, or could damage our reputation as a nation in any way, we try and brush it under the carpet as much as we can. It’s a mind-set that is indefensible, no matter how good a football player someone is.
And at the end of the day, it stands, pumping its chest on our television sets, setting an example for our nation.
When will we wake up?
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26 Comments
The Suarez case was dealt with swiftly because it was not a police matter. As the Terry case became a matter for the crown, these things take a lot longer. The very reason the Suarez incident was resolved quickly is indeed pointed out by yourself… there was no evidence and there were no witnesses. The Terry/Ferdinand case it was deemed that there was sufficient evidence to bring a case, and this is all now being discussed in a court room as we speak. This is exactly how it should be.
What you are basically suggesting is that Terry should have been punished and deemed guilty of the crime before it was proven? Suarez admitted guilt and was duly punished. Terry will no doubt see a similar fate (likely a fine from the crown and a lengthy suspension from the FA) should he be found guilty.
Though, given what has been discussed in court thus far, that seems increasingly unlikely.
Peter, if you think the objective of my article is to condemn John Terry, you may need to read it again.
I am not writing about whether I believe him to be guilty or not, because my opinion on that is irrelevant, it’s for the courts to decide. I am writing about the governing bodies of football, and the english media’s, handling of the John Terry case in relation to the Luis Suarez case, and how damaging our inability to accept that “One of our own” could be guilty of something like that is to our entire culture, let alone our football.
Again the Suarez admitted comment is raised. To clarify; Suarez admitted to using a Spanish phrase in common usage, video evidence is available of it being used often in interviews, Hernandez, now of united used it in a TV interview when talking about a goal scored by a black player. The panel didn’t find him guilty of using the phrase he admitted to, they found him guilty, on the balance of probability, of using a phrase or phrases, which Evra claimed he used, something that Suarez has always denied, and to which there was no witness or video/audio evidence. This guilty verdict was only reached because they found Evra to be a more reliable witness than Suarez.
Suarez admitted speaking Spanish, not to using the phrase he was accused of, he was found guilty only because the panel believed Evra over him.
Matt, that’s not really what my point was aiming at.
The two cases are completely different and shouldn’t really be compared like this. If it was a matter which was dealt with by the FA then, much like the Suarez case, it would have been concluded within weeks of the incident. As it became a matter for the Police due to someone making a complaint, things get dragged out.
To point the finger at the FA, in this instince, is wrong.
And I don’t really get the point you’re even trying to make about the media. Both of the newspapers I read have covered the story daily, usually within the first 10 pages of the newspaper, as well as in the Sport section.
It’s nothing to do with an inability to “accept” anything. We live in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty. You seem to want a witch-hunt against a man who hasn’t yet been found guilty of a crime. This would set a terrible precedent for all crimes if that were the case. Just look at the damaged caused to any number of lives where innocent people have been wrongly accused of horrendous crimes.
I’m not saying that’s the case here. Terry could well be guilty. But to suggest newspapers should be doing any more than they already are in covering the story, I think, is wrong.
@Peter Willis….Suarez was found guilty not because he admitted any wrongdoing, rather because the bunch of “closet” racist that formed the FA panel, decided to “believe” the ever changing version of Evra, and ignore any cultural differences.
It is an embarrassment how convenient that Terry’s hearing was schedule after the end of the Euro 2012…yes…combating racism is a priority for the FA…sure Pal.
The media in England is the third leg of this parody…they don’t know $h1t about South American culture (or Uruguay), and they pretend to be experts, and funny enough, to have the moral high ground, when the entire world knows what England did.
Enough of this…it is water under the bridge….
One last thing…at a minimum, Terry should get a 9 match ban and £40001 fine, less than that and you will show the world a little more of that lovely double standard of yours.
Cheers and have a nice day
http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/Disciplinary/NewsAndFeatures/2011/~/media/Files/PDF/TheFA/Disciplinary/Written%20reasons/FA%20v%20Suarez%20Written%20Reasons%20of%20Regulatory%20Commission.ashx – oh look, here’s the OFFICIAL FA document, based on an actual investigation that lasted months, rather than people speculating online. Oh, look again – part 5 of the introduction, the FA’s case…cultural differences, HA. Ridiculous that that is still being used as an excuse.
@VAL MAN – no slavery in Uruguay???!! I think you need to do your research properly and check your facts my friend. You are completely wrong about this, which makes the rest of your argument lose all credibility – in your own words “shame on you!!” This is all about context; words don’t have any power, its the context in which they are used that has the effect. Friends, family, colleagues, etc can – and will – call each other all kinds of names because it is being done affectionately. When it is being done by someone who is not within that circle, there is always the possibility for it to cause great offence. As a black person, I have been called “Blackie” as an insult and I have also been referred to using the “N” word by close friends, as a term of endearment. And listen to a group of women having a laugh and you will soon hear the “bitch” word being thrown about. This nonsense about cultural differences is a cop-out – Suarez has spent long enough in Europe and this country to have been able to appreciate the nuances of using those words. Or is he just another brainless footballer? Also Suarez was in a confrontational situation when he used those words, so – again – the contex and his intentions in using those words were very suspect.
Anyway, Peter Willis…I commend you for writing a piece on a difficult subject and brining your opinion forward.
Sorry, that should be *Matt.
@VAL MAN: I seem to forget? Er, no I don’t. I don’t feel bad about it, I feel bad for the people put through it and ashamed of the abusers – but I’m an individual many many years later, an individual who hates racism simply because it’s bloody wrong. Who are you to tell me that I’m only against it because I ‘feel bad’ because of what people before me did? You sir, don’t have an argument there. At all.
Also, you’re onto picking apart the N word again which A) Is completely ridiculous. I can’t believe you actually just said it’s ‘who they are’ and would only take offence if they are ‘ashamed of who they are’. and B) Is missing the point. Not only did he use the words, he specifically said ‘BECAUSE YOU ARE BLACK’ and ‘Blackie blackie blackie blackie’ amongst other things, something which was actually confirmed by Team mate Dirk Kuyt before he retracted it saying “uh, if Luis says I’m wrong then I must be.” All of this clearly shows that Suarez was NOT just calling it him because of cultural differences as it’s ‘who he is’, but that he was insulting Evra through reference to the colour of his skin which – you got it – is WRONG.
Biased document? Biased towards who? Why on Earth would the FA want to be biased towards Evra? What proof or reasoning do you have behind that? None whatsoever. IF anything the FA would’ve rather it was proven to be a misunderstanding, they don’t WANT racism to be tainting the game. Your stuff about Terry is completely IRRELEVANT when directed at ME, as I think Terry should be punished absolutely 100%. If Terry’s found guilty all he’ll get off the courts is a fine, which is completely ridiculous. So, do you see now? Me being English has nothing to do with this. I am a person, and racism is wrong. Simple as that.
You’re right. The John Terry case does sum up a nation in denial. People are denying that we are living in a totalitarian dictatorship. Words are now a crime. Thoughtcrime is next. We are Airstrip One.
Connor, I read the entire FA report, where in it did Kuyt confirm Evra’s version of events, come to think of it where is there any confirmation of Evra’s version from anybody, LFC player MU player, retracted or otherwise, video, lip reader, Psychic dog in Borneo? If you could back up your statement I would be interested to check it out, and if its actually there and credible (suppose that discounts the psychic dog) will get back to you and apologise, otherwise I think its irresponsible to make statements that are not based on fact, as factual to back up a weak argument.
Suarez fined and banned ….. Evra threaded physical violence to Suarez no action
Terry Allegedly uses the word BLACK , in Court , Ferdinand admits to taunting him about affair no action . Seems to me the colour of for skin gets you preferential treatment .
Before you cause me of being racist i live and work abroad , have friends who are black Chinese , Indian , Muslim , Christian i have no issue with any of them .
What i have an issue with is shear one sidedness , John Terry has proved many times to be less than an upstanding citizen , but when i see him i am watching his football skills no his life skills .
Fact Ferdinand absued Terry , he deserves all he gets .
Convicting terry will not solve real racist issues
People can bang on about it as much as they like but the fact is even if found not guilty in court the FA have to atleast give terry the same punishment as Suarez.
Until people stop seeing the colour of any person skin has relevant then racism will continue. What does it matter if our black white green or blue. See the person not their colour. It’s time to rid this fine country of bigots.
all this racism is bull in the first place. white guy insults black guy and all hell breaks loose. the fact that ferdinand and evra insulted terry and suarez means nothing because they were called black or negrito? equality my arse
So what are the usual racial slurs that one can hurl at a fine young caucasian like yourself? Oh yes how silly of me, I forgot THERE AREN’T ANY!!
The only one I can ever remember is from Scarface “who are you calling a spic you white piece of bread”
Hardly an abusive reminder of 100′s of years of murder, rape, slavery and oppression…oh wait white people haven’t been through that either!
@Chalky White if you want to seem ignorant at the treatment of whites then by all means, be ignorant. However, apart from Western Europe and Oceania (and some of Africa) whites are not always the dominant form. In fact, some whites have suffered through murder, rape, gbh, oppression etc, or shall we conveniently forget about how Mugabe has treated the white Zimbabweans?
Shall we also forget that we, the White Europeans, used to treat certain white sects of OUR OWN PEOPLE as slaves BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER black slavery?
There are words, it is just not as scrutinised as racism towards black people, because of the more recent history.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t any racism against whites.
lot of old ground being covered but it’s noticeable that different factions appear no nearer each other, anyone supporting Suarez, is viewed as blinkered, anyone against him, is seen as anti LFC.
JT could not be dealt with by the FA until after the trial, I personally agree with the articles point that he shouldn’t have been allowed to represent the country until ‘cleared’ and that it was convenient that the trial was postponed until after the season/euro’s
John Fearon, T.Watts – yes Evra threatened Suarez, yes Ferdinand taunted Terry – what’s your point?! Have you ever played football, or any other competitive sport? GIMME A BREAK! Players spend half their time trying to wind each other up, threatening to break each others’ legs, etc. This “psychological warfare” is all an accepted part of competitive sport, but players know there are certain boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed, racist name-calling being one of them. This was not always the case and I grew up in an era when even your own teammates would call you a “Black B…” if you made a mistake. Thankfully we live in more enlightened times in this country and players, like (nearly) everyone else in society, realise just what a deeply offensive and destructive force racism is.
Don – I agree, lots of old ground being covered and people mainly use it as an excuse to reinforce their prejudices rather than have a reasoned argument. As a black person who grew up during much more racist times in this country, this whole argument is very personal to me. I understand Matt’s viewpoint, but it is true that the 2 cases are different and difficult to compare – the main difference being that Evra made a formal complaint and Ferdinand didn’t. It was someone else who reported Terry to the police. It also does seem fairly suspicious that the JT trial date was ‘conveniently’ set – straight after the Euros and before pre-season!! I always had a soft spot for Liverpool (having grown up during their glory years) and I don’t believe that Suarez is inherently racist, but I lost all respect for him and the club because of the way they handled the situation. By focusing all their attention on shoutng about Suarez not being racist, they completely missed the point – the argument was whether he caused offense to someone by using racially offensive language, which is something completely different to actually being a racist. Likewise, I think JT is one of the most obnoxious people in football, but again, I don’t believe he is a racist. This doesn’t mean he didn’t use racist language and if so, he should be punished accordingly and then have the same/similar punishment as Suarez. If not, the vague smell of preferential treatment for the England player that Matt is alluding to will become a major stench! My guess though, from the current details of the trial, is that there doesn’t seem to be any conclusive evidence agaisnt Terry to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, so “Teflon Terry” will probably be found not guilty – again…
MikeyB,
I understand what your saying but we (LFC fans) were constantly being bombarded by comments in the media accusing Suarez of being racist, a few of them even started with, words to the effect that the author understands that Suarez wasn’t accused of racism, but this racist behaviour needs to be driven out of the game? a complete contradiction. LFC fans by defending Suarez were also being branded racist, given these circumstances isn’t it understandable that we ‘closed ranks’ and defended ourselves as well as we could.
I agree that racism has no place in society, I agree that racial insults are abhorrent and have no place, but I also feel that witch hunts are counter productive, that open discussions on even difficult subjects such as this, need to take place if we as a society are to move on.
Totally agree with the article to be honest, sure the Suarez and Terry cases are different but the media were so critical of Suarez, despite the fact there was no actual evidence, and are so defensive of Terry when everyone knows what he said, and what he said is disgusting. And he should not have been praised and lauded and the face of Englands euro 2012 campaign, he should have been left at home because England shouldn’t be seen to support racism. I think Matt is totally right, it links to the culture we have in this country, of everyone being insistant that all other countries are racist and that we are angels.
This is one of the best pieces I’ve read about this story yet. After the Suarez incident, a number of commentators made remarks such as ‘foreign players need to learn that racism is not acceptable in this country’ or ‘should be educated as to what constitutes appropriate behaviour’. The tone of those commentators made me sick – it was as if english players were incapable of racism themselves. Let’s also remember that there was no independent evidence against Suarez – the court simply believed Evra’s word over his. With Terry, there is clear video footage. If Terry gets away with this, it will confirm what we already know: there is one rule for foreign players and another for english players.
Excellent article, there are still very honest people in England.
What the English press, the FA, and the public, did to Suarez was a DISGRACE.
With Suarez case EVERYONE BURST accusing him of being a racist,they even put down the Country of Uruguay and his culture, and the rest,
Now, nothing has been said about JT, by the way, what an excellent raw model to the young English kids he is, he should give back the English Captain Band, he deserve it!!!!.
I am glad that another raw model has been named English captain on the Olympic team.
The rest of the world can see that England is still a racist nation for foreigners but not when it comes to one of their own, that is VERY SAD, double standards.
Who are they trying to fool?
The rest of the world is not stupid.
Read this, nothing has changed.
http://newritings.wordpress.com/2010/02/18/up-the-bells-and-viva-fed/
“A very informative article published in the Sports Historian No. 21 (1) by Marc Keech, THE TIES THAT BIND: SOUTH AFRICA AND SPORTS DIPLOMACY 1958-1963, details the treachery of FIFA boss Sir Stanley Rous when he backed white SA over Black Africa. However, the campaign to isolate racist SA was gaining momentum but the internation sporting institutions (and others too!) at that time were mostly controlled by European administrators and officials and in some cases under US hegemony. They had to power to undermine democratic decisions as we will show.
When FIFA decided to first suspend white SA from its fold, Marc Keech shows that:
- its president Sir Rous did, his utmost to try to reinstate them.
- Sir Rous listened to a suggestion which may sound stupid today , but which he quietly sanctioned , to have a whites only team play in the 1966 World Cup in England”
Read the whole article, this is HISTORY, very sad, has been any improvements in the past?, I do not think so.
Suarez leave England NOW, you are too good as a family man and as a RAW MODEL, too good as a player to stay there, get ready when Uruguay play England at the Olympics, “they” will BURST again chanting against you, and writing articles bringing back your case against Evra, shame.
Suarez, have you ever seen “Faulty Towers” show? poor Manuel, it had to be a foreigner and a Spanish, “everything make “sense”" really.