The whole racism issue in Spain was apparently set to be eradicated after the initial furore about former Spain coach Luis Aragones calling Thierry Henry ‘a black s**t’ in a bid to motivate his then team-mate Jose Antonio Reyes. The measly fine awarded for the incident was a day’s wages in £2000. And the Spanish FA declined to take any action initially, before being forced by the Spanish anti-violence commission.

Aragones himself dismissed the incident as a use of ‘colloquial language’. Perhaps a couple of hundred years ago, the explanation may have stood. But in the eyes of the Spanish FA it was adequate even in today’s society.  It’s pretty clear that had a member of the England coaching staff come out with a similar remark, he would have been fined and probably sacked. It seems that this cancer of racism has stopped the nation from becoming a beacon of multiculturalism. Of course it is only the minority who practise the taunts at league games and hold banners, but the passive attitude is, quite frankly, disgusting.

The 2006 incident concerning Samuel Eto’o spitting at a Bilbao player had a large part of controversy surrounding as Athletic Bilbao Coach Javier Clemente claimed:

‘In the case of Samuel Eto’o, I thought it was people who had just come out of the trees did’

Thinking his (apparently comic) remark would be met with nods of agreement in the press conference room, he was surprised that no-one reacted in accordance with him. Later, the former Spanish national side coach attempted to clarify his previous comments, by claiming he did not know which player did the spitting, quite obviously suffering from amnesia. His prejudice, along with Aragones’ remark reflects a trend in Spain that sees such chants as ‘fashionable’. The majority of the ignorant people would change if told of the meaning behind their stupid taunts, leaving the core group of racists behind.

Of course, only thirty years ago, black players in England were subject to similar taunts, with famous players such as Laurie Cunningham and Fashanu experiencing the taunts. Bananas were even thrown. While campaigns and general integration of different cultures are occurred in Britain, helping ease out the problem in football, in Spain, the nation is still in it’s infancy concerning tackling racism.

The famous reaction by Samuel Eto’o, a player attacked with such chants throughout his career in Spain, during the 4-1 win over Real Zaragoza in 2005, typified the defiant nature towards to the idiocy of some fans, who even threw peanuts onto the pitch in an attempt to rile a striker who was instrumental in mauling their own team. The referee of the match Fernando Carmona Mendez made no mention of these incidents, claiming that the crowd behaviour was ‘normal’. So, did the referee actually fail to hear the abuse, whilst being on the same pitch as Eto’o, or is this ‘normal’ an indication of how racism is ingrained in Spanish society and is as common as paella?

The fines handed out by the Spanish FA reveal a pattern to their stance on racist behaviour. While the standard, superficial statement may claim that they are committed to eradicating this problem, really, it seems that the federation may be laissez-faire about its presence. Here is Exhibit A showing this attitude:

£2,800: Fine for Real Madrid (annual turnover £202m) after fans again used “Nazi gestures”, “fascist banners and swastikas” and sung about gas chambers. Armed members of the same fans’ group were arrested in 2000 carrying Nazi pamphlets with the slogan “Jewish blood must flow”.

£2,800: Fine for Sevilla’s Freddy Kanouté for displaying a shirt with the word “Palestine” written on it. “Revealing a political message is an obvious contravention of the federation’s rules,” says a spokesman.

One is the perspective of an individual, which connotes neither support nor antagonism to either Palestine or Israel. Being fined for wearing a shirt with the name of any war-torn or politically imbalanced area is quite silly. Is it really equal to anti-Semitic chanting and Nazi salutes? No, I didn’t think so. Another set of fines given by the Spanish FA again reveals the lack of importance it gives to stopping racism:

£411: La Liga fines for Deportivo, Albacete and Málaga for “sustained racist taunting and abuse of black players”.

£435: La Liga fine for Getafe after fans use monkey chants and “gross racist taunts”.
£530: La Liga fine for Atlético Madrid after fans threw snowballs on the pitch.

Yes, those figures are actually true (taken from the Guardian) and reveal the darker side of the Spanish game. It may comprise the most technically accomplished style of play but has to present itself at the forefront of fighting this social battle in its position as one of the most popular leagues in the world. Other nations, such as those which were in the former Soviet bloc also have similar ignorant attitudes instilled in the underbelly of society, and if the Spanish FA can take a stand, perhaps the problem itself can eventually be eradicated. The first step of course is harsher fines and banning the Ultras of the various clubs.

Stars in all sports should help the process of change, such as the Olympic Basketball team for Beijing 2008, whose pose prior to the Games was inadvisable to say the least and only worsened the international view of Spain.