Respect Sol Campbell? Thanks, but no thanks

I said I would not refer back to this, but it seems that Sol Campbell and his chums in the media won't let go, so here we are again. It's a reflex of mine to react like this even when I know in my heart of hearts that my time is better spent drinking from a bottle of rum and grooming my Ricky Villa beard. But the tabloids are at it again.

The Daily Mirror yesterday run a story entitled 'Why Tottenham Fans should respect Sol Campbell as a true servant to football'.

The story initially concentrates on promoting a campaign he has set up (Kids Go Live) which aims to get children aged from seven to eleven to experience more live sport (football, hockey, horse riding - are examples listed). Its a campaign which has government backing and is personally funded by the player. Good luck to him.

But rather than just concentrate on the campaign itself, the author of the piece (John Cross) can't quite decide what the article should focus on. He starts digging his hole with some rather oh so obvious Solesque friendly statements which turn the article into yet another pro-Campbell is Great propaganda piece that paints the player as a humble, quiet man who is the paradox of modern day PR obsessed footballers. Bit like Paul Scholes. Although he's ginger and therefore not newsworthy.

The irony is of course laughable. Campbell and his PR machine are masters of the subtle touch.

The piece includes some info about what he likes (photography) and his love of films and market stalls and a couple of iconic name drops (Spike Lee and Denzel Washington). All wishy washy soundbites that contain not an iota of insight. It's like reading a textbook profile from a online dating website. But it serves its purpose in promoting Campbell.

He still harbours a desire to play abroad and live a different culture and venture into management after he's retired from kicking a ball about. Apparently this makes him 'a bit different' because he isn't falling out of a club smashed out of his head. He is then compared with Graeme Le Saux and that players who don't have a WAG and a Bentley are singled out for abuse by fans.

I work with a couple of pretentious people who read broadsheets. They get singled out (I just did it by calling them pretentious), in the same way they single out The Sun readers in the office. Welcome to Planet Earth and the bullyboy culture. Maybe Le Saux was singled out because he was a git regardless of his reading material?

Football might be this big bad brash heterosexual its a mans man game, but we all know different. It's not the 70's and 80's anymore. We just conform to a stereotype and just about get away with it. It's easier to box things up in black and white (excuse the terrible pun). Football stands are not quite an intellectual forum of discussion and discourse, are they? Even if they do manage to birth some splendid moments of comic genius in the way of non-offensive chants and banners. I guess that stereotype for many of us is acting the caveman when in fact we all take a cheeky look at a broadsheet from time to time.

Of course, there is still an element that is stuck in the past and take themselves far too seriously, with no grasp of what is right and wrong.

The article obviously does the unsurprising thing of dragging back the 'racist and homophobic' story that caused such a stir in the aftermath of the chanting that took place at the Pompey v Spurs game that led to several mug shots of Spurs fans appearing on the Most Wanted list.

Which is the reason for my reflex and this blog article.

This (the racist and homophobic chanting), according to Cross, is punishment for leaving Spurs on a Bosman. We are then given some trivia about his England career and that just because Campbell isn't spotted with a Page 3 bird doesn't mean he should be subjected to mindless chanting.

'Family man' Campbell should not be singled out for this type of abuse. And I agree. But lets not lose sight of the facts. A minority sang those chants. The majority don't include racism and homophobic chanting when telling Campbell what they think of him.

The article then mentions one or two other high profile players as examples of professionals who are also subjected to similar chants. Not that you will ever hear any of the players complain about it in casual newspaper articles or proceed to bang on about it for years and years. Cross highlights an example of an Arsenal fan calling a Fulham player a 'f**king poof'', yet the article still manages to end with a reference to Tottenham fans. But then the whole article is an exercise in the Campbell is good, Spurs fans are bad agenda.

You can read the piece in it's entirety here and make your own mind up. Cross ends it with the following: "Boo him, hate him, whatever. But don't abuse him".

Ok. Thanks for the permission and clarification. Can I quote you next time Spurs play Pompey? Try taking the average football supporter aside and define what constitutes the difference in hate and abuse when being actively vocal at a football match.

I don't condone racism or homophonic chanting. The Lunacy song that caused so much unwanted publicity was distasteful, but a court of law did not deem it either racist or homophonic. Possibly because its so ambiguous and impossible to prove one way or another. The Spurs fans arrested and charged were done so (in the end) for singing more simple and crude chants. The type that police and stewards and players and the media have not deemed newsworthy in the past. Although if the intent is of a certain over the top and vindictive nature, then you deserve to get done. Whether they would have got done if the player had not made an official complaint is altogether another thing.

Not suggesting by the way that the Lunacy song is now ok to sing. It isn't. Spurs and the police act on it if they witness anyone stupid enough to burst into song. But the song is not what its made out to be by Campbell and some quarters of the media. I'm referring to the insulting and ridiculous suggestion that Spurs fans are aware of racist connotations relating to having black people from trees in 'racist America' a number of years ago. And that we are singling out the player because he is black and that's the reason we hate him.

<--- Insert tumbleweed here --->

Bullshit. Regardless, a way for us to avoid these accusations being made in the first place is to not sing the song full stop. Hum it. Don't sing it.

As a simple note to Cross and Campbell, even though I think Spurs fans should move on and forget about him, the majority won't because they know that the booing and hatred still gets to Campbell on the pitch and affects his game. And for that reason, it's justified to boo and scream non-racist and non-homophobic chants in his direction.

The Pièce de résistance however is when Cross calls him a footballer with a conscience. Comedy gold right there from our Mirror journo.

All I see is a former Spurs youth player and first team captain, Mr Tottenham Hotspur (that's the name he gave himself) who couldn't keep his mouth shut about wanting to stay at the club and wanting to sign a new contract because he loved the club so much. A player who loved the club so much he left on a free transfer screwing us out of millions and then walked up the Seven Sisters and joined Arsenal, picking up a nice signing on bonus and then genuinely expecting Spurs fans to forgive and forget.

Do I sound bitter? Maybe I do. But I'm just sticking to the timeline and facts. Campbell would have still been hated if he had joined Arsenal but not as bad had he left like Carrick did for a massive fee and without the lies and deception that came before his departure. I say 'not as bad' but you know what I mean.

There is no integrity to be found in his soul, and it doesn't matter how many times he attempts to prove otherwise via the tabloids.

Remember his first return to WHL after he joined Arsenal? Remember the level of noise aimed at him every time he went near the ball? No homophobia or racism. Just 30,000 or so Spurs fans screaming hatred. It rattled him. However his response post-match was to call Spurs fans racist and thus that was the sole reason why he was being booed.

"What did I do?" has been the look on his face since his move away from N17. He honestly believes he has done nothing wrong.

As for Spurs fans being racist? No wonder Ledley King hardly ever plays for us. And that Lennon, we hate him too, lucky he can run so fast. And as for Jenas, it's not because he's so bloody inconsistent that we scream out expletives when he loses the ball or misplaces a pass - its because of the colour of his skin. Exfoliate damn it Jermaine, exfoliate!

<--- insert family of tumbleweed here --->

Do one Campbell. You too Cross.

Campbell is an absolute melter of the highest order and as much as Spurs fans bring it on themselves for living in the past and singing songs about him, he needs to stand tall and look the other way and just ignore it instead of constantly attempting to justify why we are the guilty ones.

Sticks and stones.

I should probably follow my own advice and look the other way too next time a red top runs a similar non-event article.

Why should Tottenham Fans respect Sol Campbell as a true servant to football? Don't ask the Daily Mirror. They don't quite have the answer.

Allegedly

I'm sure we'll know in time, but there are rumours suggesting that the 11 Tottenham fans charged for you-know-what against Sol Campbell have been pretty much stitched up. Not to go over old ground (for the millionth time) I have no gripes about people being prosecuted for racist chanting or homophobic chanting (although this one is a bugbear for many people who frequent football games - as discussed in earlier posts).

Apparently, of the 11 fans arrested, only 2 have been charged with singing the 'Lunacy' song which has been deemed offensive by the Police and media via Campbell (bite me yeah). The remaining 9 fans (three of which are juveniles ) have been charged with singing one of the following songs:

You can stick Sol Campbell up your arse, Singing we've got Ledley at the back

or

Gay Boy, Gay Boy

Again, I have to stress, this post is simply about this rumour and I'm not suggesting it's fact and will be interested to see what the charges amount to once the guilty appear in court. The 'gay boy' chant is crude but is hardly worth prosecuting people for. Seriously, its ridiculous. Songs about gassing the Jews (can we retrospectively bring charges against thousands of Chelsea and West Ham fans dating back to the 1970's?) and Harold Shipman, Munich, Ronaldo dying in the tunnel and a ton more with homophobic connotations relating to several Prem players sang by most clubs that never appear to fathom complaints from the targeted footballers are completely ignored because as wrong as they are, they are right in the footballing stadia arena (although that appears to be changing. No more common mans muck for us).

Apparently the following is from an e-mail sent by Spurs to a fan. Again, pinch of salt, as it's just an extract, but if you remember the Trust meeting from a few weeks back, Spurs did make it clear that they did not think the charges against the Spurs fans were fair.

We do not believe our fans to be guilty of racism and believe that the media organisations that originally carried the story under that misapprehension have now amended their copy. We have actively promoted our stance that the song is not racist within the media.

If anyone has e-mailed the club, feel free to share the response.

Christ only knows how volatile and intense the atmosphere will be on Sunday. Personally, 3 points and a good performance is all I care about. We need to rise above it, but you get the feeling the police and stewards will be very active and fans (both sets) will exchange colourful words - but nothing more than the usual for a game that includes former players/managers up against the club they left.

Campbell, will no doubt have unbelievable abuse (I'm talking about the level of noise) aimed at him. I can guess already the four letter word on everyone's lips (it's neither racist or homophobic, well, not until Campbell complains and the Daily Mail run the story).

Britians Most Wanted

The current UK's Most Wanted list from Crimestoppers:

• Rape
• Indecent chanting
• Cocaine supply
• Robbery
• Assault

For your information:

Who chooses the appeals on the site?

Police forces across the UK are responsible for the appeals on the site. They choose who goes on Most Wanted and who does not. The nature of the crime or the investigation will have an influence on whether an appeal is put on Most Wanted. The police are also responsible for the accuracy of the appeal information provided and removing appeals.

Staggering stuff.

*UPDATE*

Looks like the Tottenham 16 have been removed from the Most Wanted list.

Lunacy

Anyone read The Telegraph yesterday? Along with an article, they published photos released by the police of suspects they would like to question about indecent chanting at the Pompey v Spurs game from earlier this season. The police don't directly mention racial chanting. But the Telegraph ran the headline that these fans were allegedly singing racial abuse. All very much of a legal minefield. What are the police investigating exactly? Is it indecent (which I guess can be racial or possibly homophobic) or is it just racial?

The Telegraph are specific with their opinion on the subject. It's hard to prove either way simply because everyone has a different opinion on the meaning behind the words sang in the 'Sol Sol wherever you may be' chant. If someone is overtly racist, then good luck to the police and I hope they arrest and charge them. No place for it anywhere in life, and football fans should not be exempt from it at football grounds across the country. To be clear - I'm talking about racism, not ambiguous misinterpreted words.

All this publicity and police investigation is really down to one thing. Sol Campbell and his crusade. Two things, never separated, and co-existing as a singular pain in everyone's arse.

The amount of chants in football tinged with homophobic references is aplenty. Not right you might argue, but its common place. Ask Ashley Cole. Ask anyone. But has that been spoken about at all in the midst of all this as much as the alleged racist element?

Campbell has always banged on about all Spurs fans being racist and that's why they boo and abuse him. And that's it. That's the crux of it. His fragile ego can't cope, so he points his finger and rather mention the gay slurs (which, he should think about doing, or is it okay for fans to sing homophobic chants?) he decides that Spurs fans sing that 'Sol Sol' song because he's black and us Yids we hate the blacks. So lets get all KKK about it and sing about those pesky blacks but only when Campbell is playing and only mentioning Campbell's name. I guess we are the worst type of racists, the type that discriminate hypocritically by hating black Sol Campbell but loving black Ledley King. In fact the only black we hate is Campbell. White supremacy at it's very finest.

Have I made it sarcastically clear enough how ridiculous these accusations are?

Maybe 'indecent chanting' will cover off the homophobic chanting on the sly, and maybe Campbell has complained about this. Or maybe the authorities have jumped on the hype the media spun on the back of the original incident.

Again (and for the 1000th time), I'm not saying I like or have sang any of these songs. Its not my bag at all. And that other song sang by the idiot minority about Adebayor is overtly racist, but the idiots who sing it think its funny and probably don't have the brains to realise singing about washing elephants is a chant too far. I know for a fact that Spurs (stewards) have removed people for singing this during games. I've yet to hear Adebayor complain about it, but hope he does. Mido was subject to abuse recently also (again) and arrests have been made. This in particular warrants far more publicity than this Campbell carnival.

Hated for his colour - Red

The majority of Tottenham fans are way above all this and are far more simplistic with their honesty by calling Campbell a Judas or a c*nt. Which is our right to do, and before anyone gets all self-righteous about how 'you wouldn't expect to get away with calling someone a c*nt in the street so why would you expect to get away with it at a football match' - don't bother. Players except this as part and parcel of football. The day someone shouts out 'Ronaldo! I don't like you mate' is the day we slowly and gently lower football into a deep grave and shed a tear for our dear departed friend.

There's no need to put the hatred for Campbell into a fucking song. And the media and police and everyone else who want to slate Spurs fans over this should get that flux capacitor out of the bottom drawer and go back several years when Campbell played for Arsenal at WHL and got an incredible reception of abuse. No 'Sol Sol hanging from a tree' chants back then. Just your common working class mans screaming and shouting and swearing. And what does our very own Benedict Arnold do? He tells the press that the abuse was racially motivated. Had nothing to do with him walking from Spurs to Arsenal on a free and everything to do with race and colour of skin.

Fuck off mate. Just fuck the fuck off. Even the likes of Ian Wright along with one or two other ex-players don't see what Campbell appears to see.

He shat on the club, doesn't accept he did and doesn't understand why fans dislike him. If the minority of Spurs fans who are still obsessed with this non-entity had any self-respect they would just ignore him completely. Although I guess if they did that, Sol Campbell would actually believe we have forgiven him.

We live in such a PC world that anything like this will be scrutinised and exaggerated and people will be made an example of, even though other instances which are obviously racist are completely ignored - by police and the media - because they don't score highly in what they believe to be their own agendas and publicity ratings.

Maybe, the few who had their photos taken by the police at that Pompey game need to be 'sacrificed' so that it deters others from actually saying something truly racist, not questionable or subjective, but something that's blatantly black or white.