Club backing of police raids makes me proud of Charlton (From News Shopper)
Get involved: Send pictures, video, news and views - text NEWS SHOPPER to 80360 or email us
Club backing of police raids makes me proud of Charlton
2:28pm Wednesday 1st February 2012 in Charlton Athletic
Valley chief executive Stephen Kavanagh
CHARTLTON columnist MATT FRICKER explains why he is proud of the tough anti-racist stance taken by the League One leaders after the recent arrest of nine Addicks fans for alleged racist chanting on a train.
LAST week saw the club hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons when nine people were arrested following an investigation looking into alleged racist chanting by Addicks supports returning home from the Fulham FA Cup tie.
The news the arrests had been made so swiftly and with the support of the club was met with a great sense of pride by Charlton Athletic supporters.
As a club which has helped pioneer positive race relations in all aspects of its work, it was incredibly sad to hear a small minority had allegedly been chanting racist songs and displaying behaviour which no Addick wants to see associated with their club.
To make matters worse, on Saturday Liverpool took centre stage once more as yet another fan was seen making racist gestures, all of which makes you wonder how far equality has actually come in this great game.
This said, the speed at which Charlton not only reacted to these allegations, but also made their opinions on the matter public, was something I took great pride from and feel my fellow Addicks can also be proud of.
Discrimination as a whole is something which simply shouldn’t be present at all, let alone in the football, the most popular sport in the country.
Football should simply be about the game and not the colour of someone’s skin, their religious beliefs or sexual orientation.
It has nothing to do with the game and shouldn’t be present at all.
Sadly, events recently have proved there is still a level of discrimination in the beautiful game and it is something we all need to work together to fight against.
Now I’m not sure how this vile behaviour can be fought against except for fans standing up and saying, ‘we won’t accept discrimination and we shall report such behaviour to the police’ but I’m not sure we need to do anything different than that.
As Addicks chief executive Stephen Kavanagh said: “This kind of abhorrent behaviour is totally condemned by our club and in addition to assisting the police, for our own part we will be seeking to ban for life anyone who is found guilty of racially offensive chanting.
“Anyone who believes that behaviour of this kind is acceptable should be under no illusions that the club, in conjunction with the police, will take the strongest action possible.”
I’m a Charlton fan and I hope my fellow Addicks will join me in saying that anyone who thinks offensive behaviour is acceptable should stay well away from our club.
Come on you Addicks!
Follow us on Twitter @NewsShopperSprt
Comments(6)
Addick1
says...
6:48pm Wed 1 Feb 12
Try going out on a works party or in your school uniform as a group, break the law and generally act obnoxiously, you will be identified with your employer or school.
Your behaviour reflects badly on you and the organisation you associate with. The law allows the organisation to cut ties with you.
No different here. Charlton have made it clear that they do not want thugs or racists to associate themselves with the club.
If these people have done what has been reported then I fully support the actions of the club. It sends out a strong message.
CheekyBandit1971
says...
9:31pm Wed 1 Feb 12
jofse18
says...
10:29am Thu 2 Feb 12
Addick1 wrote:Could completely understand had they been singing this in the football ground but they were 9 presumably drunk men using public transport and not wearing any Charlton merchandise at all.
What is your point jofse 18?
Try going out on a works party or in your school uniform as a group, break the law and generally act obnoxiously, you will be identified with your employer or school.
Your behaviour reflects badly on you and the organisation you associate with. The law allows the organisation to cut ties with you.
No different here. Charlton have made it clear that they do not want thugs or racists to associate themselves with the club.
If these people have done what has been reported then I fully support the actions of the club. It sends out a strong message.
Loco_national
says...
10:02am Sun 5 Feb 12
I cant quite get my head around the injustice of this situation, after all no one has been convicted of any offence and yet here they are, the alleged perpetrators being paraded hoods covering their faces as they are dragged from their homes before breakfast. What part of innocent until proven guilty does Sky TV and the British Transport Police not understand? Is there not some perspective required here? After all they (allegedly) sang a song.
We live in a fractured society, one that has at its core a group of indigenous people. It seems to me that every time this group fall foul of the “multi cultural” laws protecting those outwith the core the full force of the law and more is brought to bear. The false public outrage is something I find abhorrent, only a minority think as this columnist thinks and yet his voice is heard above all others, why is that? Amongst my friends this columnist is held to ridicule, his total lack of understanding of our culture is quite shocking as is his lack of intellectual ability.
Moreover I feel oppressed by this action, I don’t sing racists songs but, should I feel the need, I expect to be able to. Why? Well, because I’m supposed to live in a free country. I expect to be able to offend any member of society that requires it; a society that cannot offend its members is heading for trouble as indeed we seem to be. One that requires recourse to law in order to prevent offence is in deep doo doo.
Loco_national
says...
5:09pm Mon 6 Feb 12
I wonder why Sky was not present at his arrest. Perhaps now you can contemplate the need to hold judgement until such time as a court decides guilt.
click2find
jofse18 says...
3:14pm Wed 1 Feb 12
Therefore, Why are Charlton Athletic getting involved in police matters which are of no concern to them or Sky Sports News for that matter.