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Sort of a bit of both. The Spanish press, possibly reflecting public opinion, seems to feel that the British press, and by extension the English, were a) trying to "unsettle" the Spanish team by constructive accusations of racism towards Luis Aragones, and b) being oversensitive to a perfectly normal bit of training-ground banter (describing Thierry Henry as a mierda negro). They simply cannot see what the fuss is about, and as such are getting defensive at what they perceive as accusations that are a) groundless and b) seeking to represent Spain as an uncivilised "poor neighbour". As such, this particular outbreak of racist chanting was probably exacerbated by the ill-feeling before the game, but there's no guarantee it would not have happened anyway.
AS, I think, described criticising somebody for calling Thierry Henry a "black shit" as "PC gone mad" - the English objecting to racist abuse of black players because they are so racist themselves, and are neurotic about what is in fact a perfectly normal bit of byplay between fans and players. It's the usual bullshit, frankly.
I'd like to see swinging fines or points deductions. What we will probably get is an official rebuke, and maybe a command to play the next game behind closed doors, or the demotion of Madrid as an international venue. |
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