Violence in sports!

[Nacho]

Wow! What a mess! Let me explain the precedents... Our football national team coach is an elderly person... his head is bad ( ). For encourage one of the spanish players (Reyes, who plays in Arsenal) He shouted him "Tell him that shitty black man (Thierry Henry) that you're better than him"

Some weeks later Spain played against England in Santiago Bernabeu (Real Madrid's stadium) and the Madrid crowd found as a better way to have fun to imitate the sounds of the monkeys when a black English player was playing the ball.

I must say that I don't specially like the hooligans of Santiago Bernabeu (I am Barça fan ) neither do like Luis Aragonés, our coach (I think he's quite stupid and his ideas about football are like 30 years old fashioned), but I think this is going too far. Hasselbaink says that if he's insulted in his next match against Villareal he'll leave the field. Viera says we're racists and Luis Aragonés must be fired (I agree, but not for his stupid racist behaviour. Being fired a single stupid sentence in a training camp, when he thought he was not being filmed  is going too far, IMO) Clubs and/or federations can't avoid stupids to enter in their fields. Punish with 10 matches Roma because a brainless man threw a coin to the referee is too much (I don't agree with throwing coins, but... What should the clubs do? Prohibit coins???) I think that this punishements should be imposed if the Club do not put as much effort to avoid this or catch the infractors.

This weekend a 16-year old guy was killed a turkish field. If we follow the rule-of-three of 10 matches punishement for throwing a coin this turkish field should be closed... forever? I think that's too punishement for a club, specially if it's done everything in his hands to avoid violence. Now imagine that a hooligan of the X team decided that he wants to have the field of team Y (the main rival of team X) closed for 15 matches... Shouldn't that punishements become a call-effect for hooligans of the team X for punishing team Y? Who must we punish? The team whose fan caused the pain? the owner of the stadium? It's too complicate... Why not to put good camera system in the stadiums to condemn the fans, not the clubs?

Morons are morons. Killers must go to jail.... But Clubs shouldn't be punished if they've put all the efforts to avoid that... Dunno what do you think, but you cann all express your ideas, I think something similar happened with Chicago's basket club. In this case I wouldn't have punished the player with 30 matches (I am not for hitting fans, but maybe 5/10 matches or/and a big economic fine would have been ok...) Paying a ticket does not give the right to throw coca cola to a player. 

[Darth Mandarb]

VIOLENCE IN SPORTS

I think a little violence is to be expected in sports personally.

Take Hockey and American Football for example.Ã,  You're supposed to hit people (check/tackle).

Sometimes, yes, it goes too far.Ã,  The incident with the Detroit Pistons v. The Pacers is a good example.Ã,  That rivalry had been building for years and this was just the top of the volcano finally erupting.Ã,  Artest got what he deserved in my opinion.Ã,  However, having said that, I'm sure the league is happy the incident happened because the next couple of Pacer's and Piston's games will have HUGE ticket sales.

The Detroit Redwings v. the Chicago Blackhawks used to be the big rivalry in the D and there were ALWAYS fights.Ã,  It was expected and highly cheered for.

It goes back to my theory about mankind's attitude toward violence/war in general.Ã,  We simply aren't that far removed from the days of the Collesium and Gladiator where we enjoy some blood letting.Ã,  I'm speaking of mankind in general as, obviously, there are those who abhore this kind of sport.Ã,  But also, obviously, it has mass appeal or it wouldn't be flourishing like it is.

RACISM

As for racism ... well that's a whole other can of worms.Ã,  I don't know the guy personally (meaning he might be a raging racist for all I know) but calling the player the "shitty black guy" isn't racist in my opinion.Ã,  Seems more like intimidation to me.Ã,  Now if he'd said, "tell that shitty nigger you're better than him!" maybe.

Is racism implied simply because he pointed out that the guy was black?Ã,  I'm sure the guy knows he's black.Ã,  Had it been a black coach and he'd shouted, "tell that shitty white boy you're better than him" NOBODY would have a problem with it.

Of course, as I said, the guy might be a known (admitted) racist, I'm just making a point of my opinion.

The theory I've always accepted is that racism will always exist because racism = ignorance, and ignorance is a hard thing to get rid of.

FAN PUNISHMENT

As for the closing of stadiums because of the fans ... this does seem kind of stupid to me.Ã,  But I'm sure they feel it's the only way to send the message that this behaviour won't be tolerated.

But you're definately right that one team's fans could sabotage another team's field intentionally.Ã,  Are these games televised?Ã,  Do the games still go on (just without the fans) if the field is closed?Ã,  Do they play at another venue?

They close the field for 10 matches if somebody throws a coin on the field?Ã,  Now THAT seems a bit extreme to me but I suppose if ALL the fans did it that could be quite dangerous.

I was at a baseball game once (Detroit Tigers) and the fans in the bleachers were throwing beer bottles at the outfielders of the opposing team.Ã,  It got so bad that the players wouldn't come into the outfield ... they stayed all the way in by the diamond.Ã,  There must have been 50 people thrown out and quite a few were arrested.Ã,  There were probably 20 fights ... it was mayhem.Ã,  But they didn't close the ballpark.Ã,  They just, from the point on, didn't allow glass bottles in the park.

[Nacho]

As a deffense of Luis Aragonés, I must say that he is the "sporty father" of Samuel Eto'o, FC Barcelona Camerounese striker... He was his coach in Mallorca and Eto'o says he's not racist.

But he's not very smart. He (Aragonés) was interviewed before the Spain-England match and inquired about racism. In spite of a polite and diplomatic reply he sais domething like "If want to know about racism ask about the former English colonies" That's miles away of a diplomatic response! If the brits change his attitude of "Fire him for racist" for "Fire him for stupid" I'll move on and agree with them. 

Anyway if some brit has felt offended... Excuses as a Spaniard, we're not all the same.