Last week I explained why the World Cup is the greatest event in sports.
So far, Russia 2018 has been a rousing installment in the tournament’s anthology, but some of the competition’s attendees have revealed an uglier side to their fandom, and we need to talk about it.
Being passionate and supporting your side is no issue, but when it leads to acts of hate, it’s time to intervene. FIFA has issued warnings to both the Mexican and Serbian soccer federations for discriminatory demonstrations at matches. It’s also using anti-discriminatory experts to monitor each of the games.
However, responding to these inappropriate actions can’t be monitored solely by issuing warnings and fines from FIFA, and each of the competing countries’ soccer federations need to take matters regarding their fans into their own hands. The English Football Association is doing exactly that.
The FA responded Wednesday to a video of English fans making anti-semitic chants and Nazi salutes at a bar in Volgograd, where England played its match with Tunisia Monday. The FA said it condemned these acts and is working with the UK Police investigation team to identify the individuals.
These images are disturbing, and acts of hate like these from English fans are exactly why a limited number of them travelled to Russia.
During the UEFA European Championships in 2016, English fans engaged in a brawl in Marseille with locals, and police had to use tear gas to subdue the crowd. In April, Russian hooligans remembered this brawl and threatened any English fans planning to travel to the World Cup with words such as “prepare to die.”
As for fans that actually attended World Cup matches, some Mexican and Serbian fans committed deplorable actions themselves.
Mexican fans chanted “puto” at Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. I understand this is a commonplace chant in some Spanish-speaking countries. But on a world stage, don’t make a chant that can be taken as a homophobic slur, especially since Mexican fans have been reprimanded for the same previously. Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Mexico’s star striker, posted a message on Instagram Wednesday pleading fans to quit shouting “puto.” Hopefully Hernandez’s initiative will have more of an impact than a simple warning from FIFA.
A distateful political banner was displayed during Serbia’s match with Costa Rica Sunday. According to an Associated Press report, it was a World War II-era banner representing a far-right political view.
Serbian fans exhibited similar materials during World Cup qualifying matches in 2017. Serbia was fined $160,000 for those demonstrations.
Obviously, FIFA’s fines of Serbia weren’t enough to discourage the politically-charged banners. It will be interesting to see if the Serbian federation decides to take any further action, especially if these banners pop up again.
Mark Stine is a sports writer. You can follow him on Twitter @mstinejr or contact him mstine@alligator.org.
