You misunderstood me. I meant that Spaniards are very open about their feelings... thus, they're always in trouble for calling everyone names at all kinds of sports events. Samuel Eto'o, from Barça is always the target of most of these racial slurs, and whenever there's an Arab player, it gets worse. I remember during the football world cup, they were arguing why none of the players from France were white.
The best thing Hamilton can do is ignore this sort of things.
The best thing Hamilton can do is ignore this sort of things.
See, here another one trying to brush it under the carpet by ignoring it.
Yeah I agree racism is a no go!
BUT
no one will object to black people calling white people 'white boy', 'vanilla face' etc.
but say anything remotely 'off center' to the black folk and the world is against you?
I am sure some one will try and educate me, dont bother I live in South Africa and Racism is rife here but from the black folk or is the correct term - Africans? For Example
Being a white male it is really unlikely to get a 'new' job due to affirmative action. but this is fine? The list goes on.
Trust me I am not a racist I have African friends etc. Yet on principal it is unfair that one Black dude gets uphill from a couple of whites and now the media is up in arms!
I don't think Diego was making an excuse for the racists, Sphinx.
I actually doubt that the FIA would loose a single penny from dropping Spain from the calender, they have quite a number of non-European venues lining up with serious funding to step in. That Spain is the home nation of Alonso means very little to the FIA in the long term, they know that support can be fickle in that regard (German viewing figures dropped sharply when MS retired) and will look at the long term. The rumours of the FIA dropping a European event for another in Asia or the Middle East have been doing the rounds for quite a while now, with Bernie mainly threatening Silverstone and Spa, guess we can add another now.
Regards
Scaff
Yeah I agree racism is a no go!
BUT
no one will object to black people calling white people 'white boy', 'vanilla face' etc.
but say anything remotely 'off center' to the black folk and the world is against you?
I am sure some one will try and educate me, dont bother I live in South Africa and Racism is rife here but from the black folk or is the correct term - Africans? For Example
Being a white male it is really unlikely to get a 'new' job due to affirmative action. but this is fine? The list goes on.
Trust me I am not a racist I have African friends etc. Yet on principal it is unfair that one Black dude gets uphill from a couple of whites and now the media is up in arms!
Fair points but I was getting at the attendance records at Barcelona since Alonso shot to fame, I'd imagine if it was dropped in place of a circuit in the Middle East, we'd have another Sepang or Bahrain on our hands where attendances are poor in comparisment.
Not so, we Brits removed this type of thing from sport decades ago. It's just a shame to see that Spain is so far behind.
Then I completely understood you.
Feelings, my arse.
See, here another one trying to brush it under the carpet by ignoring it.
Hell yes, it IS racism, but why is it any different from the other examples other than it happened to be Hamilton who was targeted? Somebody give an all explaining answer if there is one.
As for the potential anti-Alonso spectators in the UK (as Omnis suggested) with the bushy eyebrows, that would be pretty bad too
Circuit de Catalunya boss Ramon Padreras believes that Formula One's racism row has been blown out of all proportion - and thinks his circuit did everything they could to resolve the situation when it first happened over the weekend.
With the FIA awaiting a report from the Spanish motorsport authorities about what they plan to do to prevent a repeat of the scenes of abuse aimed at Lewis Hamilton, Padreras has moved to play down the mounting controversy.
He has also made it clear that he will do everything he can to ensure there is no repeat of the events in the future.
In an interview with Spanish newspaper AS, he said: "Last Friday, ten people with a megaphone behaved in a unacceptable way against the British driver.
"Right away, we kicked two of them out, we cleared the stands right in front of McLaren's garage and we decided to take measures for Saturday, closing up the terrace right above them. The problem was solved then.
"In no way can the behaviour of ten fans represent the 55,000 who enjoyed the three days and knew how to behave.
"I think that in some cases the behaviour of some 10 or 15 people has been taken out of context, and we are in complete disagreement with that information.
"We are against any racist or xenophobic demonstration, even if it's from a few, and we are not going to allow a repeat of this in the future."
Despite Padreras' comments, the scenes of abuse still remain a big news story in the UK, with Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe saying he plans to write to the FIA to ask what action the governing body is going to take.
"I was shocked by those sickening images," said Sutcliffe. "How on Earth were fans dressed like this allowed into the circuit? Racism should not be tolerated and this isn't the first time British sportsmen have been racially abused in Spain.
"This brings into question whether the Grand Prix should be held at this track. I am going to write to the FIA to ask what action they are going to take in response to this. I am also going to write to the Spanish sports minister to express our ongoing concern about racism suffered by our sportsmen."
England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was also widely quoted in the British newspapers on Tuesday, after being asked about the Hamilton affair in a press conference.
"I'm very disappointed," he said. "The T-shirts, the slogans on the shirts, the face painting. What's going to happen to the people involved? I'm intrigued to see the reaction from the governing bodies.
"There should be no room for that kind of stupidity and ignorance, not just in sport but in society. If there are punishments to be handed out I hope they're severe enough to deter people from going to stadiums or out in public going on like that."
AutosportEngland and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was also widely quoted in the British newspapers...
"There should be no room for that kind of stupidity and ignorance, not just in sport but in society. If there are punishments to be handed out I hope they're severe enough to deter people..."
Well it is kind of hard to remember these things when you're snortng a line of cocaine from a supermodel's clevage ...That's Rio Ferdinand, current England and Manchester United player, once banned for just 12 months after failing to attend three drugs tests because he "forgot".
How on Earth were fans dressed like this allowed into the circuit?
I sure hope 'walking the dog' is not a euphemism...The other night I was out walking the dog and ran into about six guys dressed as the Village People...
Once it went on the six-o'clock-news and everyone made a big deal out of it, it turned out to be oh-so-wrong.