It did not happen only to Mezut Özil: These are other cases of racism in sports
The case of the German midfielder is just the tip of the iceberg of racism in sport. In LatinAmerican Post we review other emblematic cases
Mesut Özil, world champion with the German national team in Brazil 2014, could not stand it anymore and presented his resignation to the German national team due to the constant episodes of discrimination he has suffered for years. The straw that broke the camel's back was the attacks he received after it was published a photo a month ago with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In this regard Ôzil, son of Turkish immigrants, commented: "For me, taking a picture with President Erdogan has nothing to do with politics or elections, but with respect for the highest office in my family's country," as it is cited by Deutsche Welle. For the same situation was criticized also Germanic Turk Ilkay Gündogan.
Leer en español: Mezut Özil y la Selección de Alemania: otro caso de discriminación en el fútbol mundial
In Germany, more than 3.5 million Turks reside there, according to information from Deutsche Welle, but tensions between the governments of Turkey and Germany have reached the streets. Racial discrimination adds to Islamophobia, since a large part of the Turkish population is Muslim. The case of Özil has become political, despite this could be understood this episode as an unorthodox way of leaving the national team due to its low performance, at least that is how the president of Bayern Munich, Uli Hoeness, feels about the The player's exit and his level of play expressed: "I am glad that the nightmare has ended, his game is a piece of junk for years, the last duel he won was before the 2014 World Cup. And now he is shielding himself and his game crap behind this picture", as quoted by the same German newspaper.
This case puts in the forefront the discrimination against migrants and racism in general, these are similar and the measures that athletes have taken to express their dissatisfaction with it:
NFL: Kneeling before the American anthem
A real battle unleashed the players of the NFL when getting on their knees during the performance of the anthem of the United States, to demonstrate protest racism and police abuse. President Trump did not like the measure, considering it an attack against him. Therefore, the president pressured the owners of the teams to "put order," which succeeded a few weeks ago to announce fines to teams that allow their players or staff to protest in that way, according to information from La Nación de Argentina .
Also read: 'Pep' Guardiola and the accusations of racism against him by Yaya Touré
Mario Balotelli, the sarcasm against racism
The Italian player has used social networks to express his dissatisfaction with racism, which has suffered numerous episodes in his career. Balotelli, of Ghanaian descent, wrote in his Instagram account in 2017: "Is it normal for the supporters of the Bastia to imitate the monkeys and do 'Uh uh' throughout the game and no one in committee discipline says anything?" after a match between Nice and Bastia. Just a few days ago in the same account he wrote "We are in 2018 guys, enough, let's wake up, please!", In response to a banner that read: "My captain is of Italian blood" in an Italian game against Saudi Arabia in Switzerland, as reported by Antena Tres de España.
3/3 #Sports are probably the main indicator of structural #racism creeping through Italian society. Last may, Italy vs S.Arabia, hooligans flew a banner aimed at Italy's black striker Mario Balotelli, @FinallyMario reading "My Captain has Italian blood" pic.twitter.com/xfJUgBHF9F
– Matteo Congregalli (@MattCngr) July 3, 2018
Edwin Cardona and Jefferson Lerma, the contrasts
Lerma received racist insults from Iago Aspas, a Celta de Vigo player, in January of this year. Lerma received the support of his club and denounced the aggression, which was even ignored by the referee as stated by the player according to El País. In contrast, Cardona was left out of the final list of Pekerman for Russia 2018, the reason is the sanction of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for racist acts against a South Korean player last year, in this case the penalty cost the Colombian a lot that was outlined as a figure, according to Half Time.
The difference between existing cases of discrimination is the support of teams, federations, international organizations, fans and other athletes. In Özil's case, he felt that the German federation was hostile to him. According to Deutsche Welle, the president of the federation called him Turkish in a derogatory way when they lost.
LatinAmerican Post | Luis Liborio
Translated from “Más allá de Mezut Özil: conozca otros casos de racismo en el fútbol mundial”
