No petty matters

No petty matters

It's time the media raised awareness of the need to fight racial discrimination instead of downplaying it

The camera fixed its probing gaze on Luis Suarez, crouched on the bench with the slightly anxious expression of a man who's loaded with guilt for failing to bear the torch of hope for Liverpool fans during the match against arch-rivals Manchester United during the FA Cup's fourth round last weekend.

It was an uneasy moment for the Uruguayan striker, but judging from the thunderous boos the Liverpool fans gave Man U's Patrice Evra, whom they perceived as the catalyst of Suarez's fall, it was likely that what troubled Suarez was the guilt for not being on the pitch for his ever-supportive fans, and not remorse for the crime for which he has been punished. Evra is the subject of his alleged racist remark that cost Suarez an eight-match ban.

As the camera's fixation on Suarez went on, the sports commentator made a remark about the Football Association's disciplinary action citing Suarez as one of a number of Premier League players being punished with serious penalties over "petty matters." If you do not trust my translation, the Thai word he clearly uttered was, "reung jook-jik."

Pardon me for saying this, you can call fashion a petty and frivolous affair if you want, but when it comes to political correctness, I believe fashion is light years ahead of football. The "misdemeanour" of dear old Suarez was the crime that sent John Galliano to jail (well, Galliano's in France, that's one big difference) as well as costing the designer his job at Christian Dior. The influential fashion house hardly hesitated a moment to fire the designer whose tenure at the brand had spanned almost 15 years. You can say whatever is said on the pitch is made out of on-field heat that may not be relevant to any actual intent of a person. If that's the case, I can say Galliano made all of his racist remarks under the influence of alcohol, too, but Dior didn't show him any mercy. And Suarez? It's just an eight-match ban and the FA is accused of going overboard already.

The problem of the Suarez disciplinary action does not have much to do with the case itself. Racism is a sensitive issue and it involves cultural and linguistic differences while the most decisive factor - the intent - is not easy to prove. It's such thing known to none but the accused himself and the derogatory terms he's accused of uttering during the game back on Oct 15 were heard by no one except his accuser.

Suarez admitted he did use the Spanish word negrito - which could mean "little black fella". The Spanish word literally carries no offensive implication. In this, the FA's verdict derives from the basis that they were convinced Suarez's use of this literally inoffensive word in his mother tongue that could be considered a racial slur in the place where the situation was taking place, carries an ill intent to provoke his accuser.

What I'm trying to say is, the eight-match suspension on Suarez is delivered on the grounds that he is guilty of making a racial remark. When racial discrimination is the subject, it's the eight-match ban that is "petty", and not the discrimination. In an age when we stand at the forefront of fighting racial prejudice, it's horrendous for those involved in one of the world's most popular sports to consider racial discrimination a "petty matter". Even worse, when the head of its governing body - Fifa president Sepp Blatter - refused to acknowledge the problem by saying "players involved in such clashes should settle things with a handshake". He did apologise afterwards, but it' was probably too late for those ready to exploit his words in downplaying the seriousness of the issue.

Liverpool fans may feel Suarez is the victim of a witch-hunt - an attempt by the FA to prove its dignity and commitment in tackling racial discrimination. However, it is not the time to brush off the existence of racism on the pitch. It's a time to raise awareness amongst billions of fans out there, no matter what team they support, of human dignity and equality. It is not the time for any commentator to call racial discrimination "petty matters" on screen. Your words are being heard by thousands of live match viewers all over this country, and the only message you're sending them is that racism is of no significance.

If you ask what exactly is unacceptable, it is this ignorance of the seriousness of racial discrimination of those involved in sports in general, and football in particular, and not the eight-match suspension.

Samila Wenin

Freelance contributor

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