The Warm-Up: Chelsea get tough after new racism shame
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Updated 14/12/2018 at 08:35 GMT
Chelsea supporters are in the headlines again for the wrong reasons, while Celtic made it through in dramatic style in the Europa League.
Chelsea fans
Image credit: Reuters
FRIDAY’S BIG HEADLINES
Chelsea get tough with racist fans
Raheem Sterling’s brave and bold intervention after being allegedly abused by Chelsea supporters at the weekend has seemingly forced - however short and however insufficient it may ultimately prove to be - some kind of national reckoning on racism in football.
In the last few days alone we have seen open discussions with current players about the racism they have faced; ex-pros expertly deconstructing racism in football and society; informed and important debate between two white pundits on the biggest football show on television; and claims of a “wake-up call” moment for the media as a whole.
But for a reminder of the chasm between rhetoric and reality, you only had to switch on for a few minutes of Chelsea’s Europa League match against MOL Vidi. Less than a week after the behaviour of Chelsea supporters became a national talking point, the same fanbase were bringing more shame on an exasperated club by airing antisemitic chants. What is reported to have been a “vocal minority” were heard singing "Barcelona, Real Madrid, Tottenham are a bunch of Y**s... Y****s"
Chelsea gave the impression of being utterly fed up in their response. As well they might be. This is a club which has even proposed sending racist supporters on educational trips to Auschwitz instead of banning them, so virulent is their antisemitism problem. A spokesman said:
Antisemitism and any kind of racial or religious hatred is abhorrent to this club and the overwhelming majority of our fans. It has no place at Chelsea or in any of our communities. Any individuals that can't summon the brainpower to comprehend this simple message and are found to have shamed the club by used using anti-Semitic or racist words or actions will face the strongest possible action from the club.
As most football fans know, Chelsea supporters singing songs of this nature is hardly news. Before Sterling opened up the debate at the weekend it is tempting to wonder whether the same song being sung on the same stage by the same supporters would have elicited anywhere near this amount of publicity. As Dan Levene, of these pages, wrote on Twitter, Chelsea fans have consistent form in this regard.
If this is the new normal, and chants such as this are condemned for what they are, then that would be a big step forward for football. Racist chanting cannot be tolerated in any form. But it can’t only be a Chelsea thing – one club shouldn’t bear the brunt of the focus, even if their own supporters have disgracefully made it so easy to zero in on them this week. This is a standard which needs to be applied across all clubs.
Friday’s writer of The Warm-Up has attended a fair few Arsenal matches over the years, to pick one other example, and antisemitic chanting is rife. If you go to a game at Emirates Stadium it is more likely than not that you will hear songs including the words “f****** jews” or “y*****s”. Many clubs will have their own stories of shame – blind spots to racism which have been left to fester for so long.
So immense credit must go to Raheem Sterling for starting the conversation, and we can only hope that Chelsea’s condemnation of their own supporters sets a new standard, but if football is to truly enter a new era in terms of its relationship with racism then it will require supporters of all clubs to reckon with their behaviour.
Celtic through despite Gordon gaffe
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Brendan Rodgers hails his Celtic side after Europa League last-32 qualification
Image credit: PA Sport
Up until around 9:40pm last night, Craig Gordon was probably quite ambivalent about Rosenberg. Sure, he’d played against them a few times now with Celtic, thought they had a few decent players and was drawn to the minimalistic feel of their monochrome kit. But now? Well, now Craig Gordon is the biggest f****** Rosenborg fan on planet earth.
Celtic were trying to chase down a 1-0 deficit at home to Red Bull Salzburg in their final Europa League group game last night until, in the 75th minute, their European dream was seemingly crushed when Gordon Did A Karius (official industry parlance).
But with four minutes remaining in the other game in the group, Rosenborg’s Tore Reginiussen popped up with a dramatic equaliser against RB Leipzig, which took Celtic through at the expense of the Germans. Even Celtic’s supporters didn’t see salvation coming.
“I could see the punters walking out,” said Brendan Rodgers.
When you see them walking out it’s normally a sign that they think it is over. I realised something was happening when I heard the noise then a couple of guys on the bench said that Rosenburg had scored. That was a great achievement by them but it also demonstrates again the quality and difficulty of the group, that Rosenburg can go away and get a result in Leipzig.
Still, it wasn’t all good news for Celtic. Friendly neighbours Rangers were eliminated following a 1-0 defeat to Rapid Vienna. At least they still have Glasgow team to cheer on in the next round.
Arsenal kids impress against Qarabag
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Bukayo Saka of Arsenal in action during the UEFA Europa League Group E match between Arsenal and Qarabag FK
Image credit: Getty Images
Arsenal’s game against Qarabag was also bereft of any tension, given they had already secured top spot in their group. A goal from Alexandre Lacazette gave them a 1-0 win and extended their unbeaten run to 22 games in all competitions. It hasn’t always been pretty, or particularly convincing, but Unai Emery continues to relentlessly pick off matches with all the flair of a super-efficient bank manager.
The headlines for Arsenal were the return of captain Laurent Koscielny following his lengthy absence due to injury, with the defender starting the match and getting through 72 minutes unscathed. And even with Emile Smith Rowe missing due to injury, Arsenal finished the match with six academy graduates aged 21 or under on the pitch: Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Joe Willock, Zech Medley, Charlie Gilmour, Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka. Seventeen-year-old Saka was the pick of the bunch on his full debut, almost scoring at the end and doing things like this:
As Emery said:
Today Saka played with a good performance, with a very big personality. We were speaking at half-time, they were trying one-on-one against the opposition. Not every action was good for us but his personality is very important, continuing in the second half to try to do one-on-ones and break lines with his quality. He played with very big personality for 90 minutes and sometimes with a very good performance. It’s very important for confidence and us also, we can see in this player quality to help us.
IN OTHER NEWS
Football’s not all bad, eh? Celtic fans showed their support for Leigh Griffiths last night after he took an indefinite leave from football to deal with personal problems.
HAT TIP
Raheem Sterling’s Instagram post at the weekend drew much-needed attention to the chronic lack of diversity across the football media. And now Jacqui Oatley, one of our finest broadcasters, has launched a very timely and very worthy initiative to increase female representation too. Well played.
COMING UP
It’s Sheffield United v West Brom in The Championship tonight – and remember, you can watch highlights of all the best EFL action on Quest on Saturday evening.
Marcus Foley will be back on Monday with a full transcript of Roy Keane's punditry as Manchester United lose to Liverpool.
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