(Alle links i dette indlæg er på engelsk, medmindre andet er angivet)
Fodboldfans i Europa er blevet præsenteret for noget af en liste med grunde til ikke at rejse til Polen og Ukraine i forbindelse med Euro 2012, der efter planen starter d. 8. juni. Blandt udpegede “risici” i Ukraine nævnes blandt andet massemord af strejfende dyr, udhulning af hotelpriser, truslen i form af de “smukke, ukrainske kvinder”, homofobi og situationen med den nu fængslede tidligere premierminister, Yulia Tymoshenko. Det nyeste punkt i den omfattende og varierende negative omtale er rascime – og dette er relevant i forhold til både Polen og Ukraine.
BBC One sendte mandag d. 28. maj Panoramas Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate [Hadets Stadioner]. En dokumentar der, ifølge BBC, “afslører chokerende nye beviser på racistisk vold og antisemitisme i hjertet af polsk og ukrainsk fodbold og stiller spørgsmålstegn ved hvorvidt turneringsarrangøren, UEFA, skulle have valgt begge nationer som værter for den prestigefyldte begivenhed”. Efter at have set “Panoramas optagelser af kampe i begge værtsnationer”, rådede den pensionerede engelske fodboldspiller, Sol Cambell [da], fans til at “blive hjemme”, til at “se det i fjernsynet” og siger: “Lad være med at tage chancen….du risikerer at komme tilbage i en kiste.”
BBC-dokumentaren har været skyld i mange ophedede online diskussioner. Artiklen med Cambells ovennævnte råd til fans, har fået over 950 kommentarer. The Periscope Post reviderede tweets fra “nogle nøgle-sportskommentatorer, der insisterede på, at filmen på en uansvarlig måde har overvurderet landenes samfundsmæssige problemer, mens andre bød BBCs afsløringer velkommen.”
Nedenfor er et udvalg af uddrag fra engelsksprogede blogs, der kommenterer på BBC-dokumentaren og de spørgsmål den rejser.
LEvko fra Foreign Notes kommenterede det ukrainske udenrigsministeriums utilstrækkelige respons:
[…] A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oleh Voloshyn, today stated the BBC should apologise for the programme. He claimed ‘the British side’ has never officially protested about the racist displays by Ukrainian fans.
[…]
He should have declared: there will be zero-tolerance at Euro 2012 of racist behaviour, either by home fans or by visitors, and left it at that. His statements will merely dissuade even more England fans from travelling to Ukraine.
[…]
Han burde have erklæret, at: der vil ingen tolerance være over for racistisk opførsel fra hverken hjemme-fans eller besøgende, og så have ladet det ligge. Hans udtalelser vil kun afskrække engelske fans fra at rejse til Ukraine.
Polska Dotty skrev om nødvendigheden i at adressere problemet om racisme i fodboldsammenhænge:
[…] On the one hand there has been criticism of the programme that it caricatured the problem, giving the impression travelling to Eastern Europe would be like stepping back into the Third Reich. […] Some of the many bloggers in the two days since Panorama was shown have suggested Poland has concentrated too much on the stadiums and other infrastructure needed for Euro 2012 and not enough on clamping down on the racism/hooliganism amongst fans. I think that has to be right. In UK we had terrible football hooliganism in the 70s, but it was addressed. To be fair, it took time, so we should be careful how we judge others. If the Poles stamp out the unacceptable behaviour quickly from now on, encouraged to act by the spotlight that has been shone on them, this will be a result.[…]
På Thenews.pl's Euro 2012 Blog, skrev Peter Gentle blandt andet om en tilsyneladende mindre kartografisk fejltagelse og effekten denne eventuelt har på publikum:
[…] And Panorama would never have got off to a bad a start in its pomp as Stadiums of Hate does, by displaying a map at 2.28 minutes into the programme of Poland sharing a border with … Austria! Unless there have been huge changes in borders and peoples around Europe, in secret, that only the BBC knows about, then Austria does not border Poland. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic has slipped south, and borders with a large country which appears to be Yugoslavia.
Maybe, Panorama's confused idea of the map of Central Europe is not such a big deal in the context of the vile imagery the programme presents: but imagine if you are a Pole watching this […] and having to take seriously a programme that doesn't even know which countries Poland borders with. […]
Måske har Panoramas forvirrede idé om kortet over Centraleuropa ikke den store betydning i forbindelse med det forfærdelige billede programmet præsenterer, men forestil dig, at du er en polak der ser dette […] og er nødt til at tage et program seriøst, når det ikke engang ved hvilke lande Polen deler grænser med. […]
I sit “Brev fra Tennessee til Polen og Ukraine”, skrev Kim Green:
[…] Poland and Ukraine, it isn’t going to be easy to do this. But I implore you: sit down and watch the video. Get mad. Get embarrassed. And then, move on. Clean house. Let your wrongheaded rednecks know that you think they’re complete jack@$$es, and you’re not going to put up with the swastikas and the ridiculous anti-semitic t-shirts and the incoherently designed hatemongering banners. And then, you can welcome the world to your cities for Euro 2012 and show them who you really are. […]
Michał Zachodny, der på sin blog og på Twitter skriver om polsk fodbold, havde dette at sige på The Independents sportsblog:
[…] But there is something Poles and Ukrainians can thank the BBC for. By making the problem much bigger than it is in reality, by showing that both countries are struggling with the issues, by compromising the governing bodies, they made them react. Strong reaction, even if forced, is needed to help fans prove that their response to, and disgust at, the Panorama show, is not based on empty promises and hopes. Because however scandalous and unfair the treatment was perceived to be during the programme on Monday night, it is now up to the hosts to prove the BBC wrong and the European championships are just the start.
På Polandian skrev Paddymokotow:
[…] Poland shouldn’t be afraid of the world’s attention. We should be glad the world is holding a mirror up to this wonderful country. Now let’s show the world its true reflection.
[…] The Polish Government has taken the policing and security of this event extremely seriously – they know how important it is to Poland’s reputation. You should take the same care you’d take visiting
any unknown city as a tourist, but not more.Which reminds me of my trip to South Africa for the World Cup. The UK media spent a lot of time talking about the rampant crime, terrifying HIV rates and extreme poverty in the run up to the football- saying some England fans were ‘virtually certain to die.’ But not one
England fan was arrested or killed in that month. But proving the media wrong about South Africa doesn’t prove them wrong about Poland –
that’s up to everyone Polish person when kick off begins. […]
[…]Den polske regering har taget politibeskyttelsen og sikkerheden under denne begivenhed meget alvorligt. De ved hvor vigtigt det er for Polens omdømme. Du burde tage de samme forholdsregler, du som turist ville tage, ved besøg i en hver anden ukendt by, men ikke mere end det.
Hvilket minder mig om min rejse til Sydafrika ved VM. Storbritanniens medier brugte meget tid på at tale om den udbredte kriminalitet, frygtelige HIV-rater og ekstrem fattigdom i tiden op til og sagde at nogle engelske fans ‘næsten med sikkerhed ville dø.’ Men ikke én engelsk fan blev arresteret eller myrdet i den måned. Men at bevise at medierne tog fejl om Sydafrika, beviser ikke de tager fejl om Polen – det er op til polakkerne efter kick off.[…]
På The Guardians Comment-is-free, skrev Natalia Antonova dette om situationen i Ukraine:
[…] Law-enforcement officials are keenly aware of the possibility of scandal. My source in the Ukrainian police told me this week: “People being picked up by the police for crimes are being told that should they cause any trouble during the tournament, there will be hell to pay. And officers themselves are being cautioned to think twice about harassing foreigners.”
It may be that during Euro 2012, Ukraine will be a safer place for foreigners than for citizens. As a friend of mine who is a former prosecutor told me this week: “Some parents are worried that their children will fall prey to foreign sex-tourists during the tournament! As you can see, these kinds of safety concerns can go both ways. But Kiev is ready for the fans, the city is spruced up, and I think all will turn out well.” […]
Måske vil Ukraine være et mere sikkert sted for udlændinge end for indbyggere under Euro 2012. Som en af mine venner, en tidligere anklager, sagde til mig i denne uge: “Nogle forældre er bange for, at deres børn bliver ofre for udenlandske sex-turister under turneringen! Som du kan se, kan disse bekymringer om sikkerhed gå begge veje. Men Kiev er klar til fans, byen er peppet op, og jeg tror at alt vil gå godt.”[…]
En af de 220 kommentarer til indlægget af Definatelynotashark siger:
Can anyone name me a major sporting event that didnt have these headlines in the run up?
Are people in Europe watching documentaries showing the Tottenham riots and warning them of the dangers of London in advance of the Olympics?
Go to Ukraine, take reasonable precautions, act sensibly, enjoy!
Kan nogen nævne en stor sportsbegivenhed, der ikke havde disse overskrifter i tiden op til?
Ser folk i Europa dokumentarer om optøjerne i Tottenham og advarer dem om farerne ved London forud for olympiaden?
Tag til Ukraine, tag ansvarlige forholdsregler, opfør dig fornuftigt, nyd det!