Words by Ayo Olubanjo & Jeffrey A.
In the modern game, important social issues are no longer left off the pitch – and rightly so.
Football has long had a reputation for being the best sport, where friends – for 90 minutes or so – can become foes; and where foes, for that same period, can become the best of friends. That, simply put, is the appeal of the beautiful game. It brings us all together in a way nothing else could.
When your favourite player strolls up to take a nail-biting penalty for your team, little thought is given to the next fan’s political persuasion, religion, or personal allegiances. For 90 minutes (or 100, if you’re Man United), nothing else matters but the accuracy of passes, the precision of shots and the number of dribbles completed. That, most will argue, makes the sport better. And in truth, it’s worked. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding: more than four billion people follow the sport globally.
For some, any threat to infiltrate this ‘purity’, to spoil the game with political arguments or to cause a stir with social issues is a step too far. For a small section of English fans, the taking of the knee by players represents such an infiltration, a poisonous act on the beautiful game. As such, they boo, determined to make their views clear, to signal a dissent from the majority.
For that majority, including us, there are some issues simply bigger than football. And whilst politics and all that comes with it should be left off the pitch, the action taken by the players was not political. Rather, it showed the need to use the sport – and its global reach – to ignite positive change.
“This Article Will Not Solve Racism”
For those that don’t know, this is Antonio Rüdiger. He is a professional football player at Chelsea and also plays for the German national team. If you’re wondering who this is, it’s Rudiger, one of Chelsea’s brightest stars – and, might we add, a recent casualty to the brilliance of Raheem Sterling.
Anyway, to drive home the point we’re making (in case you’re still unconvinced), his recent article in The Players’ Tribune laid plain the experiences of Black players in football: “They were calling me a n*****”. “Every time I touched the ball, they would make monkey noises”, he wrote.
In that introduction, he explained, in painfully sad terms, the hurt and pain such abuse can cause. No amount of money, no fleet of cars and no prestigious club can lessen the hurt of hundreds – sometimes thousands of people – lamenting a player with abuse.
And when that hate, in all its forms, leads to the death of people, more, as Rudiger noted, must be done. They’ve tried the hashtags, they’ve made the speeches – and they’ve pleaded with the authorities, many, many times.
“There is an investigation, but nothing really happens. Every once in a while, we have a big social media campaign, and everybody feels good about themselves, and then we go back to normal”, he wrote.
If, as Rudiger explains, we all truly cared about making changes or stamping out hate (in whatever form) from the beautiful game, we would’ve done it: “Tell me, why did the press and the fans and the players all come together to stop the Super League in 48 hours, but when there is obvious racist abuse at a football stadium or online, it is always “complicated?”
“They’re making their stand”
For the English team, taking the knee is a chance to take a stand in their own way, to communicate an important message. Yes, it’s true, taking the knee won’t solve racism in football or the world, nor will it bring about the kinds of reforms and punishments sought after. But little drops of water make the mighty ocean – and taking the knee contributes a drop.
We’re not making any arguments in favour or against Black Lives Matter, the political organisation. As argued by the players, their mission rests on communicating the message behind the movement – and in telling the world about the need to do more.
Whilst the sport offers a chance to forget the world’s troubles, it should never act as an escape for the issues that truly matter. When Rashford, Sterling and other Black players are abused, it’s mostly because of some ill-perceived performance, misplaced pass or missed goal. That abuse also has an effect on millions of fans, who recognise that hate in schools, workplaces, or social circles.
Like the majority of fans in the stadium, we all need to do more to support causes that seek to make positive change, whether on the pitch or off it. When enough progress is made, football may well be the place to keep out all social issues, to forget the world as it is.
Until then, we’ll need to work together to stop those issues from destroying the game we love, our society, and ourselves.
Speaking of the three lions, why’s why we think this is a team to be proud of.