When I first started to regularly attend football matches at the young age of 13, the kind of racism and violence that dragged the game into the gutter during the 70’s and 80’s were a thing of the past - almost anecdotal in the same way one might reminisce about dodgy perms, Panini sticker albums and hitchhiking to the game. They were remembered, in some bizarre cases fondly, but they were assumed to be a thing of the past. Football fans around the country would pat themselves on the back for how civilised we’d all become. However, allow yourself to think hard about what it's been like since those ‘dark days of football’, and then ask yourself the question, how much have we genuinely moved on?
Sure, anybody who stands up in a ground and leisurely tosses a banana at a black player, or a supporter who runs onto the pitch to confront the referee, will be dealt with swiftly and severely but those are obvious cases. It’s easy to hide behind improvements without ever discussing what more can be done.
This season questions have been raised once again about supporters, their behaviour and where a line of common human decency should be drawn. Up and down the country fans are debating the difference between harmless banter and sub-human bile and, whilst I’m happy that these things are now being discussed out in the open, I am still constantly amazed by how far some supporters will go ‘for their club’.
Manchester City supporters for years called their red counterparts ‘Munichs’, an obvious attempt to deflect attention from the massive gulf in quality between the two teams for what seems like forever, ‘If you can wind us up about winning trophies, we’ll wind you up about people dying in a plane crash!’ Hmm.
United for their part haven’t exactly been compassionate themselves as they regularly sing songs about the Hillsborough disaster when 96 Liverpool supporters were crushed to death before and during a live televised FA Cup semi-final.
Liverpool fans in turn are also happy to jump onto the Munich bandwagon with vile chants that wouldn’t be accepted anywhere but in a football stadium.
And so the vicious circle goes on and on and on.
Screaming ferociously about tragedies the likes of which we hope are never repeated all in the name of team pride is tenuous at best. Are we to be believed that the Manchester City players become more motivated when they hear that Carlos Tevez ‘hates Munichs’? I really think not. In fact perhaps the opposite can be argued. In the run up to the derby played on the anniversary of the Munich air disaster the media was in frenzy speculating on what the response of the City fans would be. To me, as a blue, that’s insulting, but you really can’t blame them. As it happens, the fans were described after the game as being ‘impeccable’ and Man City were cheered to victory - their first win at Old Trafford in over 30 years. High praise for not acting like a low-life seems gratuitous, but nevertheless I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of my club or their fans.
That was then and this is now. The Munich taunt has crept back into the fold, albeit for far fewer supporters. That famous derby day now seems like an anomaly and what a shame that is. A City supporter on fan forum, Bluemoon, defended the return to the contemptible taunts, by saying that he was happy to respect the minutes silence on the anniversary because the club had asked him to. I wonder if after the game he received a personal phone call from City’s then manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, saying, ‘Thanks for being a sport today… feel free to continue being an arsehole again!’
It’s not just tragedies that are subjected to mockery now either, it’s individuals too. Tottenham fans will tell anyone who listens that Arsene Wenger is a paedophile, an accusation that Wenger has been forced to deny. He actually had to tell the world that he doesn’t molest children. Even as I type it, I still can’t believe it. And what about the likes of John O’Shea or Ashley Cole or many others who are constantly taunted about their sexuality? As if a) it matters or b) it’s anybody’s business. In fact homophobia seems the last refuge for the small minded football fan. A football fan is quite rightly thrown out for racist language but call a player a ‘queer’ and all you'll get are a few giggles, maybe even from the police – as if there is any difference. I genuinely long for the day when a professional player has the courage to come out openly as a gay man, though I can tell you right now, I wouldn’t have the bottle to do it.
And so this is what I'm preaching: go to football, enjoy yourself, sing some songs, have a drink and by all means bait the opposition. There’s nothing wrong with that and it is part of the reason football is the most popular sport in the world. But before you join in mindlessly with your fella supporters, question what is you’re singing and why? If it’s in support of your team, sing your heart out… if it’s uncivilised bigotry or mocking the dead, well, maybe it’s time to change seats.
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