Over the past two weeks, England has been stuck in a media frenzy concerning one big issue – racism. In the aftermath of Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers, someone posted a video on YouTube which showed ‘evidence’ of John Terry, Chelsea and England captain, supposedly uttering the words ‘black c**t’ to QPR defender, Anton Ferdinand. Some sources state that Terry yelled ‘blind’ and not ‘black’ and that he was misinterpreted. Now, the FA has launched an investigation into this serious matter and the Met police have also decided to get their noses stuck in to try and find out who the guilty party is. What adds to the tension is the fact that, two weeks ago Patrice Evra of Manchester United accused Luiz Suarez of Liverpool of calling him a ‘black n***er.’
However, that story didn’t make the front and back pages of every newspaper in England for two weeks; the John Terry story did. John Terry has history; he’s got a whole list of past misdemeanours and controversies. In December 2009, he was filmed showing a group of businessmen around the Chelsea training ground in return for a large sum of money. That same year, an e-mail sent out by a company called Riviera Entertainment promoted the ‘John Terry brand’ to allow him to endorse products and events worldwide. In February 2010, Terry was again accused of exploiting the England captaincy for his own demands by hiring his player box out for large sums of money. There’s also the controversy of Terry supposedly sleeping with Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend. But in each and every case, Terry has denied and stated that he has been misunderstood and misrepresented. And that’s the thing with Terry; his reputation precedes him. As Matthew Syed of The Times puts it ‘John Terry is either the most misunderstood man in Britain, someone who has endured an astonishing run of bad luck and misinterpretation or that he is an odious and reprehensible chancer who should never have been appointed (or reappointed) to the England captaincy.’ Looking at John Terry’s career, every ‘incident’ he has had has only been partially reported. What looks like dishonest behaviour is merely a case of misrepresenting the facts and not telling the whole story.
It is understood that Ferdinand told the FA that he did not hear the alleged racist abuse from John Terry. He was only alerted to it through the YouTube video and the radio on his way home from the game. Several QPR players have also mentioned that they heard John Terry uttering racist remarks but are unwilling to go public with it. John Terry is the only man, determined to prove his innocence, who has come out with the statement that he did utter the words ‘black c**t’ but only in a defensive context and not in a racial one. Context is all important here and the puzzling thing here is why did the QPR players not go on record to expose the alleged racism?
Despite all of this, when it comes to such a serious matter as this, you really cannot be using a man’s past ‘misunderstandings and accusations’ to condemn him for what he is now being accused of. While cheating on your wife and exploiting your privileges for money is ugly, racism is repulsive. All footballers should be judged on their behaviour on the pitch. This is why, should Terry be charged with being racist during a match, his whole career would be over. He would have nothing to salvage.
Typically, with a matter as controversial as this, we’ve had every man and his dog have their say on John Terry. Andre Villas-Boas, the Chelsea manager had this to say when questioned about Terry: “How can such a small incident based on speculation arrive to a situation of such proportions with the England captain? It surprises me… He has put out his statement and we fully back John. John is a player who represents this country to the highest level internationally. He is a player of great responsibilities. He said to me the incident was a big misunderstanding. That’s why he put his statement out straight away. I find it strange when people don’t trust the words of a representative from your country.” Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager stated that: “Racism is stupid. Compared to 15 years ago, when I arrived, football has become much more international, England has become much more international, a lot more tolerant, a lot more open-minded. Yes, there is an issue, but there is an issue of all kinds of abuse. I have worked for 15 years in England and I have been abused how many times? And that doesn’t shock anybody. And the media has a part to play as well. It is not only about racism. Any abuse. And what is done in football against abuse? Nothing. I would like to see people sitting in my seat for one day and hear what people chant. And you know it’s completely wrong. It’s the same as racism. For me, it’s racism anyway.” Ian Holloway, the Blackpool manager shared his thoughts in the Independent: “I can’t sit here and claim I’ve never made a comment that I shouldn’t have on a football pitch. In the heat of a game, especially when things are going against you and you’re frustrated, you tend to say things that you shouldn’t. I remember one training session at Bristol Rovers where I slaughtered a Welsh and a Scottish lad because they were winding me up. I was shouting all sorts of horrible things to try and provoke a response and I was bang out of the order.”
After reading those, the main question you have to ask yourself is ‘what is racism?’ According to Wenger, being called a paedophile is racist. However, it is not racist – it’s revolting, disgusting and stupid but it is not racism. Not all insults are racist – racism is meant to reduce the victim and make his life miserable. Wenger is not called a paedophile by fans of rival clubs because he is tall, white and French. He is called that because the idiots who are chanting it think that it will hurt and affect him. Racism dehumanises the victim which reduces their individuality to a false, insulting and constructed stereotype. Through this, we can see that the meaning of racism has been subjective to different opinions. Is it racist when an Englishman abuses someone from Scotland or Wales? Of course it is, but it doesn’t get the same attention that a white person calling a black person a ‘n***er does.’
For John Terry, it may seem as a witch-hunt against him by the media. This could be due to the fact that he attempted to impose a super-injunction to prevent them from accessing details to his private life. Examples of how the media may be targeting Terry; the back page of the Daily Mail showing a picture or Anton Ferdinand wearing a shirt saying ‘One game community’ and ‘kick it out.’ The mail should also note that John Terry has always worn T-shirts calling for racism to be kicked out of the game. It, just like the YouTube video, and the accusations prove nothing, just as John Terry’s past demeanours prove nothing. The story is being told in different bit and pieces. Until all aspects of the story are pulled together, Terry must be assumed innocent. Many pundits and journalists alike are stating that John Terry must be removed from the England squad and have someone else lead the team out at Wembley until the investigation is over. Why though? If that were the case then we would be presuming that Terry is guilty which, at this moment in time, we cannot deduct! They’re guessing the verdict before the facts arrive. John Terry says he is innocent. Surely that should count for something? Is it any wonder that Terry feared his withdrawal from the England squad might be read in some quarters as an implied confession of guilt? The media are taking a position, patently keen to see Terry undone. They should stick to the facts.
Whatever the outcome of the case, the FA have yet another potentially damaging problem on their hands that threatens to derail their Euro 2012 preparations just like other problems derailed their World Cup 2010. For instance, if John Terry is no longer captain of England and Capello decides to give the captaincy to Rio Ferdinand, Anton’s brother, does it then split the England dressing room? The fact that some people are stating that Terry should be removed while Capello consults the back players in the dressing room is absurd. Firstly, this presumes that only black players are offended by racism. Secondly, what does Capello do? Does he divide the squad based on racial background and skin colour? What about players with mixed heritage like Ashley Cole? To say that black players cannot understand the simple concept of innocent until proven guilty is patronising in the extremist sense. There are many ramifications and possibilities that it really is another massive headache for the FA to deal with.
In conclusion, I for one am seriously fed up with this ‘racism’ story and the media’s manipulation of it. Do they not realise that their actions are causing more harm than good? By constantly referencing and highlighting perceived differences in people, they are making people think like that. The sooner the media stop highlighting the differences in people, the more people will accept that we’re not all different. Kick it out of football is an admirable aim – but if you keep drumming down ‘anti-racism’ on people, it will have the polar effect. You become incredibly aware of someone being black or white for fear of offending. In essence, it makes the situation worse – instead of seeing a footballer, you will see a black footballer, because in trying to make everyone equal, you’re highlighting the differences. As it stands, John Terry is not a racist – he may have said something ‘racist’ but these words don’t define him. Look around, he is the captain of one of the most diversely cultural teams in the world. You really think he’d be best friends with Michael Essien and Didier Drogba if he was a racist? There are worse things in the world that receive no publicity, yet some deluded fan puts up a video on YouTube that proves nothing and another makes a police complaint, and England goes into meltdown. It’s a sad state of affairs and the only people winning in this sorry affair are the media owners and those select few that want John Terry to be reduced to nothing. Race has become an instrument of policy and a tool of cultural division and it has to stop. How do you get rid of racism? Morgan Freeman sums it up perfectly: ‘stop talking about it!’
December 20th 1192: Richard the Lionheart is captured
November 20th 1985: Windows 1.0 was released
