Today’s football is not violent or racist. It always has been. Especially because it is a reflection of the society in which we live. With measures in the stands and exemplary sanctions against the energumen who embarrass us nothing will change. It’s a sick society, full of racists – some are uneducated morons rather than racists –, xenophobes, aggressors, sexists… We have it all and it’s not all four. Dear friends, that Vox is the third political force in Spain.
And then, add that football is violent as per. I have no logical explanation here, although it is obvious that the 180 mix of identity, sense of belonging, emotion and pulses is a dangerous cocktail that brings out the worst in all of us. It happened to me when I was young and even now I feel ashamed remembering some youth game. I don’t know if there’s a sociological thesis that explains it, if it’s because of the type of sport, the atmosphere that is generated in the stands or it’s simply a matter of statistics: since it’s the majority, there are more possibilities of scenes depressing every weekend.
Before this misery was barely captured, although there are unmissable documents like the one on the day Wilfred, Rayo’s black goalkeeper, brought despair to the Bernabéu, one of the worst television clips if we talk about racism that I have ever seen. Now, with thousands of cellphones immortalizing every moment, all these episodes take on even more momentum. It’s viral, it’s global. With a danger: they serve as an example for young people, who mimic it.
We’ve seen pitched fights at youth matches, parents throwing punches at 14-year-olds’ matches, Valverde assaulting Baena in the Bernabéu car park without sanction or censure from the club. On the upside, people applauding him and chanting his name. On Sunday, the Betis fans left the Sánchez Pizjuán, turning Miranda into an idol after he had made a criminal entry to Navas. A week ago there were 150 Espanyol fans jumping onto the grass at Cornellà-El Prat to stomach the Barça players who were celebrating the League title. Depressing, but anyone of a certain age, if they go back in their memory, will remember dozens of identical or even worse scenes.
The ultras, well watered with beer and whatever before entering the stadium, encouraged by the group, could be fought if the clubs were not afraid. It would be a step. But they are only part of the problem. Violence in football goes beyond the extremes, stadiums have always been a privileged space where the brilliant economist, the wealthy lawyer or the veteran truck driver pour out their frustrations, where we more openly show our misery as a society.
2023-05-22 11:59:24
#Vinícius #football #full #miserable #people
