Boro refuses to tackle Islamophobia

By Elham Asaad Buaras

When The Muslim News probed Middlesbrough FC on its handling of the incident in which Mido, their Egyptian forward, was subjected to Islamophobic chants, the club merely said having a multinational team will be their “strongest anti-racism message”.
Mido, whose real name is Ahmed Hossam Hussein Abdelhamid, was subjected to 90 minutes of “terrorist” and “Mido, he’s got a bomb” chants by Newcastle fans in the 2-2 draw at the Riverside Stadium on August 26.
Having scored the first of Middlesbrough’s two goals, Mido celebrated in front of the Newcastle fans by holding his index finger to his lips. Adding insult to injury, the referee decided to book him. Speaking after the match, Middlesbrough Manager, Gareth Southgate, fumed, “Its okay for 3,000 to abuse one person. But when the boot is on the other foot, he gets punished.”
Yet Middlesbrough have refused to disclose a report to the Football Association (FA) or exchange intelligence with Cleveland police. They have not inspected CCTV or TV footage around the stadium. They will not even browse online Youtube videos recording some of the taunts.
Writing in the Match Programme for the home match against Wigan Athletic, Newcastle’s Chairman, Chris Mort, called for all parties to “work hard together to make sure the Mido incident is a one-off.”
Preposterously glossing over the fact that Mido faced similar abuse from Southampton and West Ham fans two years ago playing for Tottenham Hotspurs, the 24- year-old’s new club have decided not to take any action, “We trust and believe that the incident involving some Newcastle United supporters was a one-off and sincerely hope that it will not be repeated again in the future by fans of any club.”
Yet denial and complacency over Islamophobia in English football is not exclusive to clubs. Football’s anti-racism body Kick It Out told The Muslim News it received numerous complaints about the manner in which sections of the media have addressed the matter. “In discussing the abuse received by Mido, one of the presenters (on a national sports radio station) has been classifying it as a bit of fun” read one complaint.
Some of the discussions have gone as far as to suggest the abuse was not Islamophobic. “Obviously, it was not claiming that all Muslims are terrorists. It’s just a chant,” said one fan. Some of the views expressed on a Newcastle fans message board were defiant. Ian Cusack, of the fanzine Players Inc said, “The Mido chants were very unsavoury but I don’t think they were racist, Newcastle have Muslim players, Emre is a Muslim. They were just a way of winding the opposition up but they didn’t work as Mido scored. The chants should be placed in the context of local rivalry.”
Kick It Out said they are adamant the chanting was Islamophobic. Kick It Out spokesman said they were “disappointed by Cleveland Police for not taking any action”, putting the onus on the clubs to find witnesses and make complaints.
Declining to comment on why no arrests were made on the day despite having officers scattered around the grounds, Cleveland police spokesperson told The Muslim News Middlesbrough had not made an official complaint but confirmed five arrests not related to the chanting were made on the day. They would, however, cooperate with the FA investigation.
On its part the FA, which wrote to the two clubs to ask for their observations, told The Muslim News it is “taking the matter very seriously” but said it would not be able to carry out an adequate investigation without the co-operation of the clubs. “We want to root out those fans. Nobody wants to go to a football match with those kinds of fans. We need court-orders to ban those fans from football grounds around the country, but we need witnesses and assistance to achieve that.”
In a statement to The Muslim News, the Commission for Racial Equality condemned the “completely unacceptable” incident, insisting, “There should be no place for racists and Islamophobes.” Yet, like the FA, the soon to be defunct CRE washed its hands of the incident. A spokesperson for the Commission said it was not “in the position” to call for action from the FA or the police.

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http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/paper/index.php?article=3142