Dear WSC
A couple of things about the Back, Crabbe and Solomos article on racism in WSC No 118 which I thought was good and said a few things which needed saying. Most of the academic stuff linking hooliganism and racism was actually about support for the national team in the 1980s and 90s. Multi-cultural hooligan groups have been around for a while as Back and co say, but isn’t it mysterious that only their white members turned up to watch England, especially away? They knew what the score was for these kind of events, and violent racism was indeed central to trouble involving England fans abroad for a long time. Secondly, implying that multi-racial hooligan groups are themselves non-racist raises difficult conceptual issues of course; but try telling the Asian community in Newham in the 1980s, for example, that they weren’t sometimes explicit targets of combined back and white hooliganism and racism at West Ham and you might get some puzzled looks. Thirdly, the article’s point about opposing banal racism is important, but it would help if people involved in the campaign sang from the same hymn sheet. What chance do we have of dealing with the old (white) men on the terrace who often equate racism with a critique of redheads, if Ian Wright at the AGARI launch himself describes racism as being like “picking on people with big ears” or “people who are bald”. Saying, well, Wright’s ‘just a footballer’ or ‘just a working class lad’ won’t due unless we’re willing to say the same about his white equivalents most of whom even now don’t take racism seriously enough for exactly these sorts of reasons. Had a prominent white player made the same comment who knows what kind of press he might have had.
John Williams, Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research, Leicester
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Stories
Conrad Thomas explains how incidents surrounding Portadown v Cliftonville led to questions about the nature of sectarinism within football in Northern Ireland
In September, Cliftonville were due to play their North Belfast rivals Crusaders in a cup semi-final. This was to be played at a neutral venue, The Oval, in predominantly Protestant East Belfast. The majority of Cliftonville fans are Catholic but we have happily travelled to The Oval on many occasions to watch our team play Glentoran. The route that we take to the ground is strictly decided upon by the police.
Tuesday 1 Fabrizio Ravanelli claims that Man Utd want to buy him: "It's very exciting because they are a more prestigious club," he says in an interview with an Italian newspaper. "There is no foundation in these stories whatsoever," says Martin Edwards. Bryan Robson is unavailable for comment, probably because he's speechless. A doctor treating Diego Maradona claims that he has suffered irreversible brain damage due to his cocaine addiction and might die if he were to attempt to play again. Brighton's home defeat by Lincoln, which leaves them second bottom place in Division Three, is interrupted by a pitch invasion. The FA may now enforce the three point deduction threatened after the abandonment of the match with York in April.
Thursday 3 After Fabrizio, Faustino, who says in a radio interview in Colombia, "I left Italy for Newcastle with the idea of being a champion, but now I am just a substitute. I am not happy." Also thought to be on their way soon are Philippe Albert, subject of a bid from Middlesbrough, and David Ginola, who may be offered to Barcelona in part exchange for Miguel Nadal, whom Kev wants partly because Alex failed to get him (soap opera plot No 55).