And Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Voloshyn said fans had nothing to fear. "Nazi symbols can be seen at ... any match in England, but does it mean that fans should not come to London for the Olympics?," he said.
Remember what happened in Ireland the year before we hosted Euro 96?
No doubt there are also programmes around the world highlighting the dangers of coming to London after the police lost control of the streets last summer.
Not sure why the media need to stoke the flames just a week or so before the tournament begins and roll out the experts on Poland/Ukraine life like Sol Campbell for opinions.
They clearly have issues out there, but then so does an awful lot of places, like our little paradise in the UK.
What everyone seems to do though is compare countries like Poland/Ukraine with countries like ourselves, USA, etc when we're both at completely different points of our development as countries, people, morals, beliefs etc.
They are clearly not as developed or robust currently with regards to race issues as we are....but 50 years ago nor were we. Things will change, but why people expect them to be at the same point as us is beyond me, considering it's taken us years & years to get to where we are, with bundles of education, legislation, etc etc to help stop & prevent racism. & even then it's not eliminated. Still plenty of people who hold racist views, whether they are white, black or brown, or millions who still hold prejudices in this country whether it's between turk/greek/cypriots, different eastern european cultures, English/Scottish, African v Carriabean, Sikh v muslim, somalis v other africans, etc etc.
We seem to bury our heads in the sand and think we're some shining beacon to the rest of the world, when in fact racist & unprovoked attacks are still common, (by people of ALL backgrounds).
I really can't see it being carnage over there, there will be isolated incidents & pockets of trouble, but this is a chance for them to boost tourism & raise money, they will do everything in their power to make sure it runs smoothly.
As for the mob who attacked the students, they just seem like an embarrassing bunch of bullies. The FA should do Ukraine & Poland a favour and hand a few passports back.
One fifth of the Polish population was killed during the second world war and the Ukrainians were also treated brutally and now they're neo-Nazis. This is weird.
I think you need to understand your history a little better. It does not follow that just because the Einsatzgruppen killed many Ukrainains and Poles that they should now all be anti-Nazi. The Nazis bombed London yet the BNP seem to pick up a lot of votes...
Many Ukrainains fought on the side of the Nazis - they hated Stalin for the purges and the the famine that his collectivisation policies in the 1930s caused. Look up the "HiWis or Hilfswilliger (Willing helpers) and after WWII one of the most shameless things we did was send back to the USSR many Cossacks who had either fought for the Nazis or who expressed no desire to go home. I doubt many of them lived more than a few days once they returned.
I understand my history pretty well. The fact that the Einsatzgruppen killed many Ukrainians and Poles does mean that they should now all be anti-Nazi, don't you think? I stand by my statement that it's weird. I know that the Ukrainians supported the Nazis, but it didn't stop them getting treated like subhumans. As for the Poles, the Nazis saw them as only fractionally better than Jews, as you presumably know.
This might be simplistic but would it follow that their country would be neo-Nazi because those who would have opposed them were killed off three generations ago and therefore those who survived would be on the far-right side?
Mario Balotelli has said 'if someone throws a banana at me in the street, I will go to prison because I will kill him. Racism is unacceptable to me, I can't bear it'
Mario Balotelli has said 'if someone throws a banana at me in the street, I will go to prison because I will kill him. Racism is unacceptable to me, I can't bear it'
He also said he considers himself lucky to be black. You could also consider that to be racist, since it appears he is saying if he was born white he'd be not as lucky.
Colour of your skin can't be helped, don't consider myself lucky to be white/black/whatever, I'd rather concentrate on the environment I'm born into & the influences that shape me, whether that be lucky being born to my parents, or in SE London rather than Mogadishu or the Orkneys, or lucky to have the friends I have etc.
Likewise being proud not of my white roots but of my roots being in the UK which has created an environment that's developed lots of successful and pioneering people, not whether they are white or not.
Likewise being proud not of my white roots but of my roots being in the UK which has created an environment that's developed lots of successful and pioneering people, not whether they are white or not.
Really? I actually wasn't trying to. He is saying that if someone is racist to him he will kill then, and therefore he surely sees that as an acceptable reaction. He does state he would take the prison sentence that results, but I'm not sure this is exactly a positive statement or a balanced reaction.
Someone somewhere is making a concerted effort to manufacture public opionion. Whether its the spheres of influence as in E/W blocs of power, gas, corruption, imprisonment of Julia Tymoshenko or individuals trying to get at some of Ukraines 'lost' squillions, I don't know, but there's a whole lot more to this non-story than meets the eye.
Saw nothing on there to shock me as we all know this goes on in eastern europe. The bit that really gets my goat is the Polish/Ukraine authorities not accepting that they have these problems and almost laughing about it, which leaves me with the conclusion that they're probably happy with the situation as long as it keeps "their" kind out of their country.....................
Worth noting that there were many anti-communist symbols/signs etc, many hated the old communist regimes they were forced to live under and therefore some gravitate the 'other' way....to the extreme right.
I think what Balotelli was trying to say was that he's proud to be black. There's a lot of black history and I can understand if someone's proud of their race. Doesn't necessarily mean they're racist.
This kicked off a massive investigation in Italian football. If these complete idiots can't be controlled by the authority, why should the players and other fans have to suffer?
Comments
"Nazi symbols can be seen at ... any match in England, but does it mean that fans should not come to London for the Olympics?," he said.
WTF?!
; )
so many orrible braindead scumbags in this world
and what happened to those young indian kids made me feel sick , fucking scumbag bullys
No doubt there are also programmes around the world highlighting the dangers of coming to London after the police lost control of the streets last summer.
They clearly have issues out there, but then so does an awful lot of places, like our little paradise in the UK.
What everyone seems to do though is compare countries like Poland/Ukraine with countries like ourselves, USA, etc when we're both at completely different points of our development as countries, people, morals, beliefs etc.
They are clearly not as developed or robust currently with regards to race issues as we are....but 50 years ago nor were we. Things will change, but why people expect them to be at the same point as us is beyond me, considering it's taken us years & years to get to where we are, with bundles of education, legislation, etc etc to help stop & prevent racism. & even then it's not eliminated. Still plenty of people who hold racist views, whether they are white, black or brown, or millions who still hold prejudices in this country whether it's between turk/greek/cypriots, different eastern european cultures, English/Scottish, African v Carriabean, Sikh v muslim, somalis v other africans, etc etc.
We seem to bury our heads in the sand and think we're some shining beacon to the rest of the world, when in fact racist & unprovoked attacks are still common, (by people of ALL backgrounds).
I really can't see it being carnage over there, there will be isolated incidents & pockets of trouble, but this is a chance for them to boost tourism & raise money, they will do everything in their power to make sure it runs smoothly.
As for the mob who attacked the students, they just seem like an embarrassing bunch of bullies. The FA should do Ukraine & Poland a favour and hand a few passports back.
They are clearly not as developed or robust currently with regards to race issues as we are....but 50 years ago nor were we.
I would say it was even a lot more recently than 50 years ago.
'if someone throws a banana at me in the street, I will go to prison because I will kill him. Racism is unacceptable to me, I can't bear it'
Colour of your skin can't be helped, don't consider myself lucky to be white/black/whatever, I'd rather concentrate on the environment I'm born into & the influences that shape me, whether that be lucky being born to my parents, or in SE London rather than Mogadishu or the Orkneys, or lucky to have the friends I have etc.
Likewise being proud not of my white roots but of my roots being in the UK which has created an environment that's developed lots of successful and pioneering people, not whether they are white or not.
well said
Shame the interviewer didnt ask how his Hollywood film career was going?
Best read the article - he also thinks he's a genius so perhaps a large amount of what he says is total fantasy and he is attention seeking ?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/4476412.stm
This kicked off a massive investigation in Italian football. If these complete idiots can't be controlled by the authority, why should the players and other fans have to suffer?