With the deliberate politicization of sports in America (using popular voices from society is winning propaganda), we can take comfort at least that we are not yet at the English stage. Their Football Association (FA) controls virtually every aspect of soccer games played in England under its league system. Here we present three very recent ‘issues’ and how the FA dealt with them, in the mode of Zarathustra’s three ‘evils‘.
1. Sex. Who’d be a fan in today’s English game? Romalu Lukaku is a player for Manchester United. He is a black man from Nigeria. He’s such a prolific goal scorer that his fans have come up with a limerick-themed chant. It goes something like this:
Oh Romelu, Lukaku, He’s our Belgian scoring genius, With a 24 inch penis, Scoring all the goals, Bell-end by his toes.
Funny? Rude? Offensive? Stereotyped? Who the hell knows, and who the hell cares, but what we do know is that chanting this in the stands today is considered a crime in the United Kingdom; correct – a crime. So the FA and the over-stretched police there will be reviewing CCTV to find and punish the felons who dared to chant¹.
2. Selfishness. It’s an unprivileged thing being a white man in Britain. It is as faddish there as it is virtually everywhere else to seek revenge, punish, discriminate and attack this hated group. If you’re a selfish woman, a selfish black woman, and you are disgruntled with your white male boss for whatever real or contrived reason you have, and you want to get rid of him – no sweat!
Mark Sampson has been managing England’s Women’s international football team since 2013. One of his players, Eni Aluko, accused Sampson of, wait for it, wait for it, you’ll never guess: that’s right – racism! Here’s what he said:
Nigeria? Make sure they don’t bring Ebola with them.
Haven’t you been arrested before? Four times isn’t it?
The first comment referenced the fact that Aluko’s parents are from Nigeria and they were visiting during the Ebola outbreak. The second comment referenced Aluko receiving a prior caution from the police. So the FA started Investigation #1. All clear; nothing found. Then the FA started Investigation #2. All clear; nothing found. So the FA started Investigation #3, went to his previous employer, and lo and behold, they found something (or, more to the point, anything). Sampson was then duly fired².
3. The will to power. English football teams often have club mottos. A recent international game between the England Women’s team (noted above) and Russia was played at Tranmere Rovers home stadium. Before the game, the FA noticed that Tranmere had their club motto emblazoned on one of the stands:
Super White Army
Yeah, you know where this is going. This motto derives from Tranmere’s kit being a white jersey with white shorts. The FA however was having none of this and took down the banner with the motto on it so that the international game could go ahead. The FA had no comment on why its mandate now also includes hiding banners with club mottos on them³.
But then again, they don’t have to.
So when we lose our breakfast watching the NFL, still allowing over-privileged football players to kneel down in support of a malcontented mythic fantasy, just think how worse those poor fans and managers in England have it under Zarathustra’s watchful gaze.
² The Guardian; Women’s football head defends FA’s Martin Glenn over Sampson sacking
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