[kendra k]

i think you mean futbol!

my last comment seemed a tad xenophobic, but it's true and not in a down with foreigners kind of way. i wish i spoke/understood enough spanish to really follow the mexican leagues because they are pretty good to watch. chivas is pretty big here.

[Sidders]

Is there any hype about the world cup over there?

[kendra k]

a bit. there was something on espn this weekend about racism in european football that was slightly misleading. it talked about henry's campaign to raise awareness, and the efforts of some organizations to crack down on racist fans, but it made it seem like germany was a totally racist country and that france and spain were nothing like them- which in my experience is totally backwards. they've sorta talked about the us team, but more about where americans and expats can watch the games in bars locally.

[MK Chris]

I think Germany in general is perceived to be quite racist. I'm not sure whether or not that's a fair perception, but didn't they only fairly recently have the first black person playing in their national team?

[kendra k]

yeah, but to be fair, there aren't many black people in germany. lots of turks though. when i lived there the only black people i met were exchange students. most of the football matches i went to had many anti-racism signs and banners, which seemed to be an important part of the football culture. granted this was all in the west, and i ended up going to mostly st. pauli, hsv, and hannover 96 matches.

[Sidders]

The Spainish are very racist.

[whytie]

a bit. there was something on espn this weekend about racism in european football that was slightly misleading. it talked about henry's campaign to raise awareness, and the efforts of some organizations to crack down on racist fans, but it made it seem like germany was a totally racist country and that france and spain were nothing like them- which in my experience is totally backwards. they've sorta talked about the us team, but more about where americans and expats can watch the games in bars locally.

The Germans, Italians and Spanish are all extremelly racist. Its mostly the fans of certain teams though and not the country in general, the Lazio and Real Madrid ultras for example have a large following of far right fans.

[Fathomer]

The Germans, Italians and Spanish are all extremelly racist.

What you just said is racist. Don't generalise. A lot of the German cities don't have any problems- is one of the least racist countries in the world. Has been drilled into them.

Just don't mention the Turkish.....

[whytie]

The Germans, Italians and Spanish are all extremelly racist.

What you just said is racist. Don't generalise. A lot of the German cities don't have any problems- is one of the least racist countries in the world. Has been drilled into them.

Just don't mention the Turkish.....

Read my post again please, in full, instead of just the first line, then you'd realise I'd wrote, 'Its mostly the fans of certain teams though and not the country in general'.

[Fathomer]

the first line just shocked me like a woman being rammed by a bull out of nowhere- good simile?!
I will read the 2nd line from now on.
Wasn't the reason we lost England 2006 because FIFA so we had to improve our fans yobbish behaviour?

[kendra k]

which german teams? a lot of the fan i saw were vocally anti-racist.

[whytie]

the first line just shocked me like a woman being rammed by a bull out of nowhere- good simile?!
I will read the 2nd line from now on.
Wasn't the reason we lost England 2006 because FIFA so we had to improve our fans yobbish behaviour?

Yes, nice simile!

As regards to your fans yobbish behaviour, speak for yourself mate, us Scottish fans behave impecably! Except maybe those pesky Aberdeen casuals!

which german teams? a lot of the fan i saw were vocally anti-racist.

Taken from a website-

It started with a Hitler salute. Two eastern German soccer teams in the fourth division, FC Sachsen Leipzig and Hallesche FC, had just drawn 2-2 on March 25 in Halle, and the fans weren't happy.

Leipzig's Nigerian midfielder Adebowale Ogungbure was walking off the pitch when hooligans ran up to him, spat at him and called him "Dirty Nigger," "Shit Nigger" and "Ape." He ignored it and walked on. Then, when he passed the main stand and heard fans making whooping monkey noises at him, he decided he'd had enough. He put two fingers above his mouth to symbolise a Hitler moustache and stuck out his right arm in a Nazi salute to the crowd.

Given their behavior, one might think they would have appreciated the gesture and even returned it. But a Halle supporter attacked him from behind with a corner flag and another grabbed him in a stranglehold. Ogungbure pushed them away as a teammate intervened and dragged him towards the tunnel, to the safety of the changing rooms.

"I was just so angry, I didn't care. I could have been killed but I had to do something," Ogungbure told SPIEGEL ONLINE last week. "I thought to myself, what can I do to get them as angry as they have made me? Then when I lifted my arm I saw the anger in their faces and I started to laugh."

"I've faced some sort of racist abuse at about half the matches I've played," he said, but the spitting was too much on March 25. "I've never seen anyone spit at a dog or a cat in Germany -- why should I be spat at?"

The story took a grotesque turn when Ogungbure was charged with "unconstitutional behavior" for making the Hitler salute, which is illegal in Germany. The public prosecutor's office wisely dropped proceedings within 24 hours. But the incident made nationwide headlines and spurred a flurry of reports suggesting racist abuse is rife in the lower leagues where crowds are smaller and fewer police are present.

Rolf Heller, president of FC Sachsen Leipzig, played down the incident and said it was an isolated case. "This has nothing whatsoever to do with right wing extremism, it is just misguided fervor on the part of the fans," he said. Ogungbure said he informed Heller long ago about the hostility he faces. His answer: "They only want to wind you up."