Racism is the belief in the superiority of one race over another, so I 100% get a few peoples point that it isn't racism (in the standard definition) between two black players. Can be many other things but not that!!
Mong?
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No one is saying it is necessarily racist in that instance. What it could be, however, is offensive or insulting to someone else. I take your point though.
Someone has to be insulted though! I'm not getting involved if its none of the 3 instances to act!
For sure, so how do we judge how insulting something is? What's to say someone else on their team or the opposing team finds it insulting? Are we still not to sanction it?
I had 2 instances ever that I can remember where Race was brought up,
1 was a mainly black team where a white player told me that his team mates were being called BBs etc, I didnt hear it and obviously I would have dismissed for it had I personally heard it, Game was disrupted by away manager asking for the game to be stopped as he feared for the safety of his alleged 'racist' players!! Some things really do come home to roost when it becomes a war!!!
2nd , I've mentioned before but I think it was a misheard comment in a handbags / fight situation where a player thought he was called a BB and other player said he'd said F'fin B'stard ???? Who knows, they both went, one for OFFINABUS, one for VC!!! FA didnt want to know!!
1 was a mainly black team where a white player told me that his team mates were being called BBs etc, I didnt hear it and obviously I would have dismissed for it had I personally heard it, Game was disrupted by away manager asking for the game to be stopped as he feared for the safety of his alleged 'racist' players!! Some things really do come home to roost when it becomes a war!!!
2nd , I've mentioned before but I think it was a misheard comment in a handbags / fight situation where a player thought he was called a BB and other player said he'd said F'fin B'stard ???? Who knows, they both went, one for OFFINABUS, one for VC!!! FA didnt want to know!!
You can judge from the steam coming out of his ears,,, Keep up Alex!!
Do they? Where does it say that?
Lets not start that popcorn rush!
Not saying I wouldn't challenge or maybe warn someone but that's it at that point!! Prey tell that you're sending off???
No one has to be offended. If you stand in the middle of the street shouting one of the words that are deemed to be offensive these days, some of which have been mentioned on here, you will be arrested (assuming you aren't killed before). A football pitch is no different, there are certain words that would get you sacked if used at work, arrested if used on the street in public, and should be a red card if used on a football pitch.
You obviously don't listen to much 'black music' then
All of this is hypothetical, but it's quite clear I'm not as sensitive to political correctness as some. I fancy I could judge when I need to take action, but I'm not inclined to falsely label a player or a coach unless I'm sure they deserve the charge. Much of the talk above probably doesn't meet my criteria for slinging mud at one of my customers
I went to a funeral today for a family member who was Jamaican, it was a truly lovely service with gospel singers, a bishop who was the spitting image as Whoopie Goldberg, a priest who was a ringer for Dion Dublin, 100+ black, white, mixed race people united in respect. After the service we were all together his brother mentioned in jest that i regularly called my Gambian son in law the only black Jew in England.... He and a few others were in stitches as they knew exactly what i meant, no-one was offended or insulted. Now, in a different context that sounds awful.... but not in this, and thats the point.... any words, said out of context sound worse than what they were intended...
I was trying to avoid personal circumstance trickling into this conversation but as as black referee, I think it's dreadful that there's a belief that somebody has to be present and instantly offended for another referee to take action to a racial comment on a football pitch because of 'context'
So would you be offended by a black person (of a certain race/background) using the N word as a term of endearment or respect towards another black person of the same race/background?
A lot of this discussion has been excessively hypothetical. For instance, a racial slur is extremely unlikely to be used (randomly) in the absence of a person towards which the comment might be offensive, rendering much of the chat herein pointless
It's an insult aimed directly at disabled people. Doesn't matter if it's not racist, it's still offensive/insulting/abusive.
Padfoot
The Persecuted One
Well it was aimed at me, and I’m not disabled.......so I was neither offended, insulted nor abused......
But its not about you really is it, or are you a narcissist?
Recent, personal example. I recently dismissed a player for using the word faggott. He neither called me it, nor anyone directly. The words he used were "we are not faggotts" in an attempt to justify his unhappiness at being penalised for a reckless foul.
Was I offended? Was I insulted? Was I abused? No I was not. However, how am I to determine if any player, coaching staff or spectator was? I cant. I have to say the meaning of that word is a derogatory term for a homosexual man and therefore it is offensive to a whole community of people and has no reasonable basis to be used on a football pitch.
As referees we have a certain duty of care to protect all participants of the game, particularly at grassroots even if we arent directly responsible for them.
I don't condone the use of the word at all. I'm not somebody who would use any kind of racial slur towards other black people as I feel it sends out the wrong message and is pretty hypocritical. On a football pitch it becomes even more of an issue for me, especially with things like the 'Kick it out' campaign taking huge steps in irradiating this sort of thing for the game. Allowing it to happen because you/we/us as referees are not personally offended isn't a step in the right direction, especially when the LOTG doesn't dictate that the referee has to be or feel any of the INOFFABUS criteria, it just defines that the use of the language should not be used.
That's not the point. The LOTG don't say that you HAVE to be offended or insulted, it just says that the language or gestures shouldn't be used, which they were. And yes, you were abused... Verbal abuse by definition is to denounce somebody or criticize them, which in your story, your refereeing ability was being compared to that of a disabled person which again, is unacceptable. This isn't 30 years ago and referees collectively should be looking to remove this sort of language from a football pitch. The FA have been actively trying to improve the game for women, people of different races, disabilities and homosexuals and allowing this doesn't help.
Couldn't have put it better myself. I do wonder if there's perhaps a slight generational thing here. If anyone called me a faggot they'd be walking before they got the chance to finish the first syllable, likewise with any of the other words mentioned on this thread. It beggars belief, quite frankly, that we've spent 5 pages trying to justify bigotry and hatred.
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