As much as it is referred to as the beautiful game, there are still some aspects of it that still remain ugly the major being racism. Although in major leagues like the Serie A and La Liga incidents of racist behaviour are going down, it is not happening as fast as many would like it to.
In the latest incident involving Nigerian international Peter Odemwingie, FIFA and UEFA have stated that are powerless to do anything against his former club Lokomotiv Moscow.
Apparently, the fans of Odemwingie’s former’s club unveiled a flag with a banana on the front which thanked West Bromwich Albion for signing the striker.
FIFA issued a statement saying that it was out of their boundaries.
“Only the competition organiser can issue sanctions.
“If it was a League match, the Russian FA would be responsible, and if it was a UEFA competition match, UEFA would be responsible.”
UEFA also maintained that the incident was out of their jurisdiction.
“This issue does not come under Uefa’s jurisdiction, since it is, of course, up to the national associations to regulate and run their domestic leagues, including disciplinary matters.”
Players like Samuel Eto’o, Mrio Balotelli and Thierry Henry have been victims of this cruel vice and must just as shocked a many how are reading this. My question therefore is, if the world governing football body cannot handle this issue who can?
Photo Credit: from Miriam Mannak
