"Racism in French Soccer: Dissecting a national scandal"

[pampango]

http://www.worldcrunch.com/racism-french-soccer-dissecting-national-scandal/3043

A race-quota scandal gripping France’s top soccer establishment began on April 28 when investigative French website Mediapart published controversial comments from the transcript of a November 8, 2010 meeting of some of the country’s top soccer officials. The comments appear to call for 30 percent quotas capping young black and Arab players at top soccer academies.

All the ingredients necessary for a major implosion were in the offing: a French national soccer body without anyone of African descent since the December resignation of Lilian Thuram, the media digging into the topic, and the reaction of a public obsessed by an imaginary connection between soccer and “national identity.”

Will the “multicultural” generation give way to an “all-white” generation?

After the comments of Jean-Marie Le Pen at the 1996 European Championships, and other personalities who stigmatized the team as “black, black, black,” a standard racism began to seep into the sport concerning the ubiquity of “blacks” (in reality, “Muslims,” as many point out) on the French national team.

Like society at large, those who shape the destiny of French soccer prove themselves incapable of managing diversity. They remain deaf to the phenomena of multiple identities, a consequence of a colonial past and a still neglected history of immigration. Invisible within certain sectors of public life, “Blacks” and “second-generation Africans” are everywhere on the fields of sports, nearly the sole place of social success for many youth in our neighborhoods.

Convenient and soothing speeches of “All Blue, All United” do not help anyone deal with the difficulties. Far from being a racism-free bubble, soccer is proving to be a source of division, causing everyone to fall back to defending their own. For these gentlemen, a Black, an Arab, and an Asian are not real “French,” even if they were born in France. If this frame of mind could “offend some sensibilities,” it also reveals the long path left toward de-colonizing our imaginations. The foul is severe, gentlemen: Red Card!

Interesting how race, immigration and sport can come together for better or for worse.

[lunasun]

1. a public obsessed by an imaginary connection between soccer and “national identity.”

as usual in many places , 2nd/3rd generation blacks/Muslims are not part of white France's identity......
sad

[tularetom]

2. How are the wing nuts supposed to hate the French

After they find out the French are racists too?

This discovery will cause some cranial splosions fer sure.

[riderinthestorm]

3. Did anyone see Invictus? The story of how Nelson Mandela used sport to unite So. Africa?

Well, maybe "unite" is too strong a word but he recognized so clearly the power of sports, especially international sports like soccer (in the case of Invictus it's rugby), to transcend boundaries.

I'm not saying the French situation is akin to South Africa - only that the power of sports cannot be overlooked in transforming national identity, connection and racial discrimination. France could use some lessons in diversifying it's culture but as we've seen with other "cultural" hot spots (like the burqa), it's going to be a tough road.

[malaise]

4. This is an unbelievable turn to the right

:puke:

[pampango]

5. French football coach facing inquiry as part of an investigation into comments over racial quotas.

http://english.aljazeera.net//sport/2011/05/2011591154453357.html

Blanc has been summoned to explain his version of events after the Mediapart website released a transcript of a meeting that took place last November in which Blanc and French officials allegedly discussed introducing quotas on the number of dual-nationality players at youth training centres.

Blanc has been in the spotlight since reports last month that the idea of quotas for youth players of Arab and African origin were discussed at the football federation meeting.

France Football Federation (FFF) technical director Francois Blaquart, who also took part in the discussions, was provisionally suspended pending the results of the inquiry.

Blanc has denied accusations of racism and said any comments he made at the meeting last year into dual nationality players were taken out of context but could "offend some sensibilities".