Neil Humphreys: Fine is not enough, Bulgaria should be kicked out
Bulgaria need to be kicked out, not fined for their fans' racist abuse
This story is not really about Nicklas Bendtner's boxer shorts.
It is about an ugly answer to an even uglier question. What is football going to do about racism? In the end, the answer proved to be not that much.
But let's get the derisory fines and the facile comparisons to Bendtner's underpants out of the way first.
Yes, Uefa fined the Bulgarians 75,000 euros (S$113,000) for racist abuse in their Euro 2020 qualifier against England on Oct 14.
Yes, Uefa levied a heftier 100,000-euro fine on Bendtner for flashing his branded underwear at Euro 2012 in a shameless attempt at ambush marketing.
And yes, the "woke" folks are berating Uefa for its latest, seemingly definitive, example of putting financial interests ahead of moral and ethical concerns. But this is hardly a new revelation.
Count the number of abused - or dead - foreign workers involved in the construction of those gleaming white elephants in Qatar. Commercial interests are paramount.
Bendtner was fined 100,000 euros because that was his reward from a betting agency for flashing their brand on this boxer shorts.
Branding is sacrosanct in football. At the 2014 World Cup, I was ordered to remove a soft drink from the press box, as it was not the official cola sponsor of the tournament.
And yet, those Bulgarian ultras were not removed for making monkey noises whenever England's black players ran past. Perhaps they needed to make their Nazi salutes while swigging an unofficial cola to ensure expulsion.
It is easy to be flippant. Just as it is easy to understand the outrage over Uefa's skewed sense of morality.
But Bendtner received a 100,000-euro fine because he was paid 100,000 euros for his ambush marketing.
The 75,000-euro fine handed to the Bulgarians is not only a chalk and cheese comparison, it's arguably irrelevant.
A full-stadium ban for Bulgaria's next international match - a second full closure is suspended for two years - represents a heavier financial punishment, but it is still not even remotely sufficient.
The provocative comparisons between an eccentric striker's underwear and another underwhelming sanction for racist abuse draws attention away from the real issue, which is Uefa's alarming indifference to a repugnant trend.
RACISM ON THE RISE
Racism is on the rise. Bulgarian "ultras", the spread of far-right groups across Europe and the legitimised language of xenophobia have emboldened the boo-boys on the terraces. They are growing in number and getting louder.
Not because they know the fines will be small - the racists do not pay the fines - but because they know they can keep coming back.
A one-match ban merely ensures that the Nazi salutes are confined to the local pubs for one night. The Bulgarian football authorities take the financial hit for hosting games behind closed doors. But the real monkeys go unpunished.
Uefa knows what the appropriate sanction should be. Everybody does. To borrow the name of the anti-racism watchdogs, Kick It Out, kick them out.
Bulgaria had to be removed from the Euro 2020 qualification campaign, with the points going to the Czech Republic in their remaining game.
They are serial offenders. Previous fines have not stopped the Nazi salutes.
Football cannot fix racism in society. But it can remove a platform. A stadium's stands are like a sea of soapboxes, filled with knuckle-draggers sharing their bigotry with a global audience.
No tournament. No soapbox. No problem. Otherwise, not much will change.
Recently, the players of non-league Haringey Borough walked off after Yeovil Town's supporters abused Haringey's goalkeeper.
The FA Cup tie was replayed yesterday morning (Singapore time). Yeovil won 3-0.
The side with racist fans actually benefited from the replay. How would any Yeovil fine help Haringey now?
Recently, Old Trafford ejected a Manchester United fan for racially abusing Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold. While a row between Bristol City and Luton Town supporters allegedly had racist undertones.
How will fines really fix any of the above? There are always fines. But there will always be more racists.
The game's obsession with financial penalties is perhaps indicative of a wealthy sport that has long believed that if enough money is thrown at a problem, the problem will go away. But the racists are not going anywhere, not in the current, volatile climate.
As the Bulgarians demonstrated, they want to be isolated from people of colour.
So give the racists what they wish. Isolate them. Remove them. Remove their clubs and countries from competitions if necessary.
Forget the fines. They do not work. Let's start talking about serious punishments instead of making silly comments about Bendtner's boxer shorts.
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