The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Banana-throwing fan in Spain faces criminal charges Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:08 AM PDT The Spanish authorities arrested the young man Tuesday, two days after the ugly incident put racism in Spanish football under a harsh spotlight, unleashing condemnation worldwide including from Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The suspect, who has been named and pilloried on social media but has not been identified by the authorities, was charged on the same day with an offence against civil rights and liberties before being released, a police spokeswoman said. If found guilty, he could face a sentence of up to three years in prison. The banana landed on the pitch near the 30-year-old Brazilian international as he was about to take a corner during Barcelona's away match against Villareal on Sunday night. Alves won praise for his reaction, picking up the banana to take a bite before getting on with the game and setting up a goal in Barcelona's dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 victory. Villarreal condemned the incident and said they had identified the culprit, withdrawing his club membership and permanently banning him from their ground. "The player Dani Alves gave a daring and strong response to racism in sports," Brazil's leader said in a series of Twitter messages after the match. Blatter also reacted on Twitter, saying: "What @DaniAlves2 tolerated last night is an outrage. We must fight all forms of discrimination united. Will be zero tolerance at #World Cup." The FIFA boss spread his anti-racism message Wednesday to the United States after the NBA banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life for racist comments. No to racism "Sport says no to racism. I fully support @NBA's decision to ban @LAClippers owner for life after his racist words," Blatter said. Much of the football world stood behind Alves. Outraged at his teammate's treatment, Neymar posted on Twitter with the hashtag #somostodosmacacos, (we are all monkeys). He then sent a photo showing him eating a banana holding his two-year-old son, who was clutching a banana-shaped soft toy. Chelsea's Brazilian stars Oscar, David Luiz and Willian also posted to social media while Manchester City's Argentinian star Sergio Aguero tweeted a picture of himself and Brazilian five-time world female player of the year Marta both eating a banana. Football's world and European governing bodies FIFA and UEFA have repeatedly tried to campaign against racism and last November, Blatter said he was "sickened" to see some Real Betis supporters make monkey chants at their own player, Brazilian defender Paulao, in a city derby against Sevilla. Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said Tuesday he regretted that some people had used football to launch a racist message. "It is not everyone. I want to think these are isolated incidents. In football there is no racism, not at all," Del Bosque said, ruling out any impact on the Spain team from the fallout of the scandal. In an interview with AFP, Alfredo Relano, the editor of major sports daily AS, said many people in Spain did not believe there was any racism because in the past there had been relatively few people of other races in the country. "As people from elsewhere have been coming in, it has started showing up," he said, referring to the banana-throwing slur as "unacceptable". "I think there is racism in Spain and we have to fix it. The strong reaction from outside was very present in England some time ago and they followed it up very seriously. I think we have to follow it up with rigour." – AFP, April 30, 2014. |
| Spain dreams of all-Madrid Champions League final Posted: 30 Apr 2014 06:59 AM PDT "Worst thrashing in history!" boasted the front-page of Spain's biggest selling sports daily Marca after Real Madrid wreaked havoc in Munich with a 4-0 away leg win delivering a 5-0 aggregate crushing of Bayern. Many papers recalled Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge's pre-match warning to Real Madrid that the German ground would be an "inferno" and "Munich will burn". "Rummenigge was right. Munich burned", ran the front-page headline of Madrid-based sports daily AS after Pep Guardiola's Bayern suffered their heaviest home defeat in European competition. "What a night! The best Madrid I can remember in Europe, a night to banish once and for all the phantom of Bayern, to wipe away all the bad times suffered before the Bavarian giants," said AS football analyst Alfredo Relano. Real are now one game away from their longed-for, yet elusive "La Decima" – their 10th European title. If Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid can now prevail over Jose Mourinho's Chelsea in London, they would face Real Madrid on May 24 in Lisbon. It would be Atletico's first European championship final in 40 years, the first chance to regain the title since May 1974 when they lost to Bayern Munich. "You can do it Atleti!" Marca blared on its front page. "Come on Atleti!" echoed Barcelona-based Mundo Deportivo. Mundo Deportivo football writer J.G. Gomara said his father, who was aged 13 at the time, never tired of regaling his family with his memories of the Atletico Madrid-Bayern Munich final. "Well, 40 years have gone by and the red-and-whites are just one step away from having the chance to avenge my father's memories and those of many of you," Gomara wrote. "They are just one step away but it is a big one," he said, warning that the Madrid side will have to overcome Mourinho's defensive wall. "If Atletico want to be in Lisbon they will have to sweat blood to do it." – AFP, April 30, 2014. |
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