GAA must embrace new Race campaign
by Frank Roche
(Evening Herald GAA correspondent)
ONLY last week, lovers of the Beautiful Game - including countless Croke Park regulars - marvelled at the twinkle-toed majesty of Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, et al as they weaved their magic across the Stamford Bridge muck.
Barcelona were a breath of fresh air, especially for those of you who can't warm to Cheslki or the self-appointed `Special One'.
And then, just a few days later, came news that Samuel Eto'o - one of Barca's holy trinity of attacking stars - had been racially abused while playing against Real Zaragoza.
Eto'o threatened to leave the pitch after being subjected to monkey chants. He was only convinced to play on by team-mates, opponents and the referee.
Zaragoza fans have `history' when it comes to this vile behaviour but they're not unique: Spanish football has been plagued by racist chanting in recent seasons.
Not so long ago, England travelled to Madrid for a friendly international only for their coloured players to suffer shocking abuse (clearly audible even to armchair viewers) every time they touched the ball.
You may ask what all this has to do with the GAA? And the straight answer is, very little indeed. Just yet.
But `good old Catholic Ireland' is changing before our eyes. Nearly 10pc of the population is now non-national. The Romanians, the Poles and the Nigerians are adding to our rich cultural tapestry but some of the locals don't like it: they are, so the blinkered stereotype goes, "taking our jobs". Or, worse again, our social welfare.
Tackling racism is a job for all of us, from the Government down. It's also something that can't be ignored by the administrators who run Irish sport.
`Show Racism the Red Card' launched a major publicity drive in Dublin yesterday, spearheaded by former soccer internationals Niall Quinn and Curtis Fleming, with Dessie Farrell - of Dublin and now GPA fame - representing the world of GAA.
The organisation has been preaching its message of tolerance through the medium of education and sport for over a decade.
Goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, then of Newcastle United, was instrumental in the start-up and projects are now in place throughout the UK and Scandanavia.
Yesterday's Tolka Park event was about getting the same message across to an Irish audience. The Gaelic Players Association has come on board in tandem with its soccer and rugby counterparts, the PFAI and IRUPA, while the teaching unions (INTO, ASTI and TUI) are also involved.
Farrell says there have been "some situations" of racism in Gaelic games and, while it's not very prevalent, he insists: "We need to take steps and implement policies to begin with, rather than tackling the problem when it has taken hold.
"Particularly in a lot of urban areas, people from different cultural backgrounds are going to be playing Gaelic games. We need to be very vigilant, that we don't encourage (racism) through apathy or a non-recognition of the problems occurring in other sports," the former Dublin skipper concludes.
It's debatable whether Croke Park is ready for the potential problems that go hand-in-hand with such a fast-changing demographic.
To this observer, who was in Australia, the GAA hierarchy seemed totally ill-prepared when the Graham Geraghty controversy erupted in 1999. One rash, albeit extremely ill-judged, comment in the middle of a warm-up game and -- suddenly -- the tourists were face-to-face with a race issue that meant little back home but was ultra-sensitive to Australians.
You were left to wonder what, if any, briefing the Irish players had received beforehand? "None at all," confirms one '99 tourist. "It was a real eye-opener at the time. I remember everyone was stunned that you could miss a game as a result."
Closer to home, there have been occasional flashpoints. As the Dublin team departed from the pitch after the recent `Battle of Omagh', Jason Sherlock was racially abused by several Tyrone `supporters' in the stand, according to Dublin sources. There have been other reports of sectarian abuse involving players from the border counties.
You could argue the GAA has been `lucky' to have such a homogenised playing population, automatically curtailing the opportunity for fans -- or opposing players -- to indulge in racist sledging.
The landscape is changing, though, and rapidly. Dublin Cumann na mBunscol hasn't done the research that would reveal exactly how many immigrant children are playing football and hurling in our capital's primary schools -- but according to PRO Jerry Grogan: "There is hardly a team that doesn't have at least one child from some ethnic minority."
Some 265 teams took part in their football competitions last term, and 163 are entered for the upcoming hurling and camogie competitions. Of the 30 teams which reached the football finals in Croke Park, Grogan reckons between 20 and 25 had a mixture of nationalities. What used to be the exception is now the norm.
Now for the good news. "I can honestly say that not one incident of racial abuse on the field has been brought to the attention of the executive in Dublin -- or indeed nationally," says Grogan, who has just stepped down after ten years as national PRO.
"I think that probably points to the fact that children take to children of different nationalities quite naturally," he adds.
"I have no doubt that adults need to be educated. You hear of children making racist remarks in a school yard and it's always adult-speak, that `these people are taking our jobs, etc'. They are hearing that at home."
According to Grogan, some "really talented" players from an ethnic background are coming through the primary ranks and surely destined for greater things. The best hurler in Croke Park two years ago was from Bangladesh.
They are even taking up the whistle: a 12-year-old Nigerian, Bambi Fasamya, refereed the mini-sevens match during the All-Ireland football final in Croke Park last year.
Now that's progress . . . but it behoves the GAA at all levels to make the most of this welcome new resource.
FOOTNOTE: You can access the `Show Racism the Red Card' website at www.theredcard.ie. The organisation has launched its UK DVD, featuring interviews with Damien Duff and Chris Hughton, and is now seeking funds to produce an Irish DVD while 10,000 posters will be distributed to Irish schools and clubs.
(Evening Herald GAA correspondent)
ONLY last week, lovers of the Beautiful Game - including countless Croke Park regulars - marvelled at the twinkle-toed majesty of Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, et al as they weaved their magic across the Stamford Bridge muck.
Barcelona were a breath of fresh air, especially for those of you who can't warm to Cheslki or the self-appointed `Special One'.
And then, just a few days later, came news that Samuel Eto'o - one of Barca's holy trinity of attacking stars - had been racially abused while playing against Real Zaragoza.
Eto'o threatened to leave the pitch after being subjected to monkey chants. He was only convinced to play on by team-mates, opponents and the referee.
Zaragoza fans have `history' when it comes to this vile behaviour but they're not unique: Spanish football has been plagued by racist chanting in recent seasons.
Not so long ago, England travelled to Madrid for a friendly international only for their coloured players to suffer shocking abuse (clearly audible even to armchair viewers) every time they touched the ball.
You may ask what all this has to do with the GAA? And the straight answer is, very little indeed. Just yet.
But `good old Catholic Ireland' is changing before our eyes. Nearly 10pc of the population is now non-national. The Romanians, the Poles and the Nigerians are adding to our rich cultural tapestry but some of the locals don't like it: they are, so the blinkered stereotype goes, "taking our jobs". Or, worse again, our social welfare.
Tackling racism is a job for all of us, from the Government down. It's also something that can't be ignored by the administrators who run Irish sport.
`Show Racism the Red Card' launched a major publicity drive in Dublin yesterday, spearheaded by former soccer internationals Niall Quinn and Curtis Fleming, with Dessie Farrell - of Dublin and now GPA fame - representing the world of GAA.
The organisation has been preaching its message of tolerance through the medium of education and sport for over a decade.
Goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, then of Newcastle United, was instrumental in the start-up and projects are now in place throughout the UK and Scandanavia.
Yesterday's Tolka Park event was about getting the same message across to an Irish audience. The Gaelic Players Association has come on board in tandem with its soccer and rugby counterparts, the PFAI and IRUPA, while the teaching unions (INTO, ASTI and TUI) are also involved.
Farrell says there have been "some situations" of racism in Gaelic games and, while it's not very prevalent, he insists: "We need to take steps and implement policies to begin with, rather than tackling the problem when it has taken hold.
"Particularly in a lot of urban areas, people from different cultural backgrounds are going to be playing Gaelic games. We need to be very vigilant, that we don't encourage (racism) through apathy or a non-recognition of the problems occurring in other sports," the former Dublin skipper concludes.
It's debatable whether Croke Park is ready for the potential problems that go hand-in-hand with such a fast-changing demographic.
To this observer, who was in Australia, the GAA hierarchy seemed totally ill-prepared when the Graham Geraghty controversy erupted in 1999. One rash, albeit extremely ill-judged, comment in the middle of a warm-up game and -- suddenly -- the tourists were face-to-face with a race issue that meant little back home but was ultra-sensitive to Australians.
You were left to wonder what, if any, briefing the Irish players had received beforehand? "None at all," confirms one '99 tourist. "It was a real eye-opener at the time. I remember everyone was stunned that you could miss a game as a result."
Closer to home, there have been occasional flashpoints. As the Dublin team departed from the pitch after the recent `Battle of Omagh', Jason Sherlock was racially abused by several Tyrone `supporters' in the stand, according to Dublin sources. There have been other reports of sectarian abuse involving players from the border counties.
You could argue the GAA has been `lucky' to have such a homogenised playing population, automatically curtailing the opportunity for fans -- or opposing players -- to indulge in racist sledging.
The landscape is changing, though, and rapidly. Dublin Cumann na mBunscol hasn't done the research that would reveal exactly how many immigrant children are playing football and hurling in our capital's primary schools -- but according to PRO Jerry Grogan: "There is hardly a team that doesn't have at least one child from some ethnic minority."
Some 265 teams took part in their football competitions last term, and 163 are entered for the upcoming hurling and camogie competitions. Of the 30 teams which reached the football finals in Croke Park, Grogan reckons between 20 and 25 had a mixture of nationalities. What used to be the exception is now the norm.
Now for the good news. "I can honestly say that not one incident of racial abuse on the field has been brought to the attention of the executive in Dublin -- or indeed nationally," says Grogan, who has just stepped down after ten years as national PRO.
"I think that probably points to the fact that children take to children of different nationalities quite naturally," he adds.
"I have no doubt that adults need to be educated. You hear of children making racist remarks in a school yard and it's always adult-speak, that `these people are taking our jobs, etc'. They are hearing that at home."
According to Grogan, some "really talented" players from an ethnic background are coming through the primary ranks and surely destined for greater things. The best hurler in Croke Park two years ago was from Bangladesh.
They are even taking up the whistle: a 12-year-old Nigerian, Bambi Fasamya, refereed the mini-sevens match during the All-Ireland football final in Croke Park last year.
Now that's progress . . . but it behoves the GAA at all levels to make the most of this welcome new resource.
FOOTNOTE: You can access the `Show Racism the Red Card' website at www.theredcard.ie. The organisation has launched its UK DVD, featuring interviews with Damien Duff and Chris Hughton, and is now seeking funds to produce an Irish DVD while 10,000 posters will be distributed to Irish schools and clubs.
posted by garrettmullan
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