My understanding is that racism is quite prevalent in Spanish football but the local punishments have been somewhat lacking, and despite several attempts to pass legislation that increases the severity of punishments, not much has really changed since Spanish coach Luis Aragones was fined a couple of thousand Euros back in 2005 for racially abusing Thierry Henry.
Agreed it will be very difficult to punish him unless his team mates admit he did racially abuse Junior.
Is it though! Mbappes comment state “Benfica players heard it”. If they turn round and say no we didn’t hear it at all it throws all doubt on Mbappes statement and then doubt can be placed against him also hearing what he says he did. , as they can say well if he lied about others hearing it what else could he be lying about.
I absolutely agree, I can’t see the crime being punished as it’s to difficult to make it stick without Benfica turning on their own player.
I know it was judged by a different organisation, but didn't Suarez get punished for racially abusing Evra? Perhaps it was different in that certain words were admitted to be used, but the context of them was said to be different. I think it was one persons word against another, and ultimately Evra was deemed a credible witness, Suarez not.
I genuinely couldn’t tell you what happened between Suarez and Evra, I know there was racial connotations but was long enough ago my simple brain doesn’t remember the finer details.
True.
I believe Suarez called Evra 'negrito' or something, which he pretty much admitted to because he thought it was fine to say that, people in his homeland say it all the time, etc. It was not fine to say that of course, but he was punished since he effectively admitted saying it.
I’m not convinced it is damaging to Benfica, if their players state they didn’t hear anything and Mbappe is lying then them backing their man is smart money. They can call out Mbappe stating he was wrong and has lied and backing their players shows solidarity and will appeal to their fan base
I worked with a mixed race Jamaican guy at work who is still a very good friend. When we were on nights we used to talk for an age of all things to do with his sexuality, his colour etc etc. it was an eye opener listening to things he had gone through in his life. He was married and later confessed to being gay, his wife was fantastic in her response. He was literally told never to come back to Jamaica because of his sexuality. Working at a coal mine with 1,000 men. He had a target on his forehead from the ignorant people because he was gay.
It isn't that suspicious that certain players didn't react, that may be closer. People have different personalities and reactions. Someone may react instantly, others may be in shock and not believe what they heard nor how to react. There is a lot of noise in the stadium as well, so someone may have been focused on what the player said, someone who was closer may have been zoned out of that and focused on something else.
The concern I have in this, generally, is that when stuff like this happens, we can often spend more time in trying to find reasons why the alleged victim is actually lying, or why other witnesses will be lying. If a team mate automatically becomes an unreliable witness, then I guess the problem of racism will never be solved. The team mates of the alleged guilty person are not going to say the guy was guilty, otherwise that makes their working life within that club very very uncomfortable. Anybody could say what they want, as long as no microphone can pick it up or it can't be lip read. When I heard Mourinho's response, on one hand I could understand what he was saying from his point of view, whilst also defending his player and club when nothing can be proven. On the otherhand, I can see what he said as being horrifying. He was in a lose lose situation I think
Caveat, the below if from Google AI, presumably it has picked it up from the UEFA disciplinary website:
