Evra accuses Suarez of racism

[Reece]

I thought some referred to them as "Abo(s)", which I also believe they do not take kindly to at all.

[Chrono]

Also I will say it again, If the "English" Football Association charges a Latin American player with Racism for using the word Negrito, it will be the English FA who will be in the spot light for Racism, it will create and international incident, they will be effectively charging the entire Latino world with racism. Every Spanish person or South American I have spoken to have said it is not a racist term at all ..

It would be like the English FA charging a French player for saying somehthing in French which sounded like a bad English word .. Smacks of ironically Ignorance and Arrogance

I'm not sure that's true. As I posted earlier, apparently, if you do not know the person you are calling negrito then it would be considered racist.

I don't know what Suarez said or how it was said but using that term clearly isn't always free of offence.

[dom9]

did they ever?

I read about it a while back, yes.

[Shaggy]

My Aussie mate tells me it's not deemed racist over there at all, simply an abbreviation like Aussies, and in fact the theme tune song for the cricket World Cup went something like "we've got the Aussies, England, oooooh we've got the Pakis too"

[Neil Young]

I'm not sure that's true. As I posted earlier, apparently, if you do not know the person you are calling negrito then it would be considered racist.

I don't know what Suarez said or how it was said but using that term clearly isn't always free of offence.

If it is 'negrito' then it's very finely balanced. It's obvious he was being deliberately provocative, trying to wind up his opponent. I don't think race is necessarily part of it - he could have been said it with a false affection, patronisingly, like you might call someone 'darling' when you both know your feelings are the exact opposite, but it's a form of asserting dominance.

The trouble is, using a diminutive ('-ito') in that way is always liable to cause offence - that's the intention. When allied to a reference to race then calling a black man a 'black boy' has very immediate and troubling connotations.

If this is the issue then it really could go either way.

It also would completely undermine all the people who have pre-judged the issue and slagged off Evra. Even if it wasn't meant to cause offence, I can understand why it did.

[Nicey]

I'm not sure that's true. As I posted earlier, apparently, if you do not know the person you are calling negrito then it would be considered racist.

I don't know what Suarez said or how it was said but using that term clearly isn't always free of offence.

In the same way as calling someone sweetheart who you did not know ... He was obviously on a wind up about his size

[Fernandinho]

I thought some referred to them as "Abo(s)", which I also believe they do not take kindly to at all.

[dom9]

Part of the problem with the P word here is that it is used as a generic term to refer to anyone from the subcontintent (or if they look like they might be from that area). So Indians, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis have all been referred to in that way. Being from Pakistan is almost irrelevant.

Do the Aussies only refer to people from Pakistan in that way, or are people from the wider region included?

[Fernandinho]

Pretty sure just people from Pakistan...

What was the whole calling Aboriginal's that from?

[dom9]

An article I read about racism in Australia years ago. It didn't imply that it was a term in widespread use in that context, but it was certainly highlighted.

There are always idiots in every society.

[DKdan]

Perhaps it's just me... But I don't get what all the fuss is about if Suarez indeed used "negrito" and the meaning of it translates to "black boy". As far as I know, the word "black" is NOT racist. It is a description of skin color.

Is it offensive? Of course it is... But IMO the offensive part is "boy" as it could relate to his height. But they are footballers FFS!!! They are in a competitive environment and, banter, windups and such must be part of the job.

What about calling someone fatty? Like Rooney and Lampard? Nobody cries when the crowd chants "Steve Bruce has got a big fat head".

I've played a bit of football myself and I have been called most things, none of them very nice - and I have returned my fair share of words too. Not that nice, but thats how it is. Even when playing with friends the words fly around. Everybody sits together afterwards enjoying the beers, having a great time. Why? Because its part of the game, and it doesn't mean any thing.

I know a striker with fairly long blond hair. So often, he is called a "blond bitch" by opponents. That IMO is as racist as calling Evra "black boy". Nice? Of course not! Racist? I dont think so.

I think a lot of black people are sensitive about these issues because of the racism they have suffered through history, and perhaps rightly so(the sensitivity - not the racism of course! Pardon if the wording is poor). But IMO its taking the piss on the ones who REALLY suffers from racism - not some multi millionaire black footballer who should have a word with him self about his own behavior in general.

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone with this post. That wasn't my intention at all, and I understand if it's a sensitive subject.

I just think that issues like this takes away the focus from REAL problems. REAL racism.

I don't think for one minute that Suarez is a racist. I think there are VERY few racist football players. What about all their black team mates? Top football clubs are probably some of the most blended enviroments. If Suarez indeed is a racist, then I would think his teammates would know. Then I would hope a respected player like Glen Johnson would say something about it, either to Kenny or directly to the press. I dont care how much it would damage the club, if Suarez was indeed a racist then he should find another club. It's just that I dont believe for a second that he is.

[Tee]

I remember the Aussie cricket in the 80s...it was one of teh first times the teams wore the coloured kits and teh highlights wer eshown on Channel 4 or something.

The intro music from the programme would have something along the lines of.... The Aussies, The Windies, The Pakis are coming....

And IIRC Dubya also referred to Pakis in the context of people from Pakistan rather than as a racist term.

It is just in this country that term is used as a racist word. Just for the record, in Urdu the word **** actually means clean/pure.

[Zapater]

I don't think for one minute that Suarez is a racist. I think there are VERY few racist football players. What about all their black team mates? Top football clubs are probably some of the most blended enviroments. If Suarez indeed is a racist, then I would think his teammates would know. Then I would hope a respected player like Glen Johnson would say something about it, either to Kenny or directly to the press. I dont care how much it would damage the club, if Suarez was indeed a racist then he should find another club. It's just that I dont believe for a second that he is.

True, but I know many racists that have good relationships with minorities they are racist against. They justify it by saying "He's the only decent one" or "he's our blacky" etc. Because once you know a person, you look passed the physical and can forget about these things. Or there's people who will never be caught dead saying anything racist, but will make racist comments in private. It might not be apparent, but they're still racist.

Just because people interact with a broad range of people from different groups, doesn't mean that they're not racist. How many football teams in Europe praise their black player, but target abuse and make monkey noises at the oppositions.

[DKdan]

Perhaps. But what Suarez thoughts are, is his business. Its what he says and how he acts that matters, and I dont think his teammates would tolerate it. Not at all.

But there are grades of racism. If our thoughts was monitored we would all be racists to an extent. IMO.

In the worst end of the scale: Ku Klux style. Physical racism and killing. Pure hate!

In the other end: On Danish telly before a game against Norway. Norwegians was called: "Fjeldaber" (Translates to "mountain monkeys"). I even think we gave them a shirt with "Fjeldabe" on their back - all on national telly. Is that racism? It must be, but IMO it's rather harmless.

[cannotmakeit]

I wonder how many people have said "lets get a chinky tonight" when refering to a chinese takeaway and not don't see that as a problem.