Stanger: “Football is breeding an atmosphere of hate.”
In Matthew Stanger’s latest Football365 post, he argues that provincialism, hatred, and verbal abuse (booing, etc.) have infected this EPL season, poisoning it to a level at which it’s simply no longer fun to watch. He writes: “Football is breeding an atmosphere of hate. This season has been worse than ever with tribalism suffocating the joy out of the game for many fans. When you look at the issues that are making the headlines, it’s time to accept that terrace abuse has gone far beyond friendly banter.”
The public animosity towards Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean, the Suarez-Evra racism debacle (and the subsequent booing of Patrice Evra at Anfield last Saturday), and several other incidents, many of them on-going, have certainly tarred this season’s headlines. Add in the poppy war, sectarian songs and chants, and the latent bias against homosexual players, and the dark cloud above British football only looks more menacing.
In the past, I have argued that certain banter (e.g. songs with historical significance, long-standing rivalries, especially derbies, and a healthy level of unruliness in general) is what keeps the game interesting as it becomes more and more corporatized and homogenized. Scotland’s sectarian songs, for instance, offer a great departure point from which a lengthy beer-accompanied discussion of history, culture, and politics could be had. How fun, right?
But I do think Stanger has a point: hooliganism may be slightly subdued, but a general malaise of petty and sour xenophobia (call it “tribal,” if you will) has crept into the forefront, making it harder to divorce fun or enriching forms of provincialism from extremely hurtful and damaging ones. And while I’m not sure how one could successfully police the singing of songs in public, it’s becoming clearer by the day that something has to be done.
So far, the FA has tried to take action by issuing suspensions and fines, and in some cases the local authorities have been brought into the fold. These tactics don’t appear to be working. In fact, they often have the opposite effect of their ostensible goal; Evra, for example, is now even more hated because of the Suarez ban—hence the booing at Anfield and its aftermath.
So what is to be done? Stanger doesn’t provide an answer, except to write: “So when I go to watch Blackburn play Newcastle on Wednesday, I won’t be booing Steve Kean. I don’t go to football matches for the hate; it’s just not worth it.”
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