AS a young lad, I was always out with my gang, playing football on the streets. There were seven of us, Malays, Chinese, Indians and Eurasians. There were plenty of good times. Even arguments would end in laughter.
As a 29-year-old now, I long for those days. The world seems to be engulfed with extremism and racism. But reading about it in foreign reports is one thing. Staring it in the face is another.
And that is what happened on Saturday. I was at the press conference when Selangor coach B. Sathianathan lost his cool and lambasted some social media commenters, who had criticised his team, calling him and players of Indian descent “keling”.
When he uttered that word, it reminded me of how some Malaysians could be vile. I have been called a “keling” before during reporting. It’s Malaysia’s answer to the American ‘N’ word.
When Sathianathan called himself “keling” during the conference to make his points heard, some media people were giggling at the back. It was uncomfortable, and I just wanted it to end.
A year ago, my colleague K. Rajan and I wrote stories about racism in football, especially in Malaysia, and we were heartened to see some people taking initiatives to curb it.
However, to see it continuously lingering on cyberspace is worrying. Imagine mothers of these players reading it. If it was my mother, she would be devastated.
Yes, I am a mama’s boy.
The very fact that racism is still rampant in our football system shows that more than awareness is needed to put a stop to it.
A concerted attempt is needed to weed out the racists. Maybe, it is time for football to lead in restoring unity in the country, which is being ripped asunder by racism.
Some clubs in the country are looking at ways to mend the situation, but are they doing enough?
It is time for players to make themselves the brand of awareness. If abuses are hurled against them, just leave the pitch. Stop the play. Pass the ball around like Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich. Just show the fans you have had enough of the abuse.
In Europe, we have all seen players of African descent leaving the pitches when fans make monkey noises and chant racist terms. It should be happening here.
That’s on the pitch. What of the social media? We need players to be brave enough to stand up and say it is happening.
It will instil the confidence in others to come out. We need to speak loudly on this matter. Teams need to stand up for their players, instead of telling them to just move on and get on with the game.
The Malaysia Football League (MFL) should also step up on its protocol on racism. Maybe it is time for referees and match commissioners to take this matter seriously.
Racism can psychologically affect a person. Like Sathia, the affected player is even afraid to take to the pitch these days.
MFL have a “Red Card to Racism” campaign. But it should not be just a gimmick.
The campaign has to be used to spread awareness to schools and every club, for all age-groups.
I have seen young children calling players “hitam bodoh”, “sepet”, “mat salleh” and yes, “keling” in stadiums. The children probably have no idea of their own racism. The adults are to blame, but we have to start from young and teach children about the evils of racism. Maybe, they can then teach the adults.
It is not only the people of darker skin that are targeted. I have seen people of other races being ridiculed by fans, too.
How many more times are we going to say “No to Racism” and then turn a blind eye to it when it happens?
We need to take the bull by the horns. And end this nonsense.
