Wednesday, 18 February 2015

MEDIA TAKES THE EYE OFF THE BALL

What a disappointing start to the knock-out stage of Champions League football in Paris yesterday, when a Parisian black man, at Richelieu-Drouot metro station, was prevented by “English football fans” from getting onto his commuter train before the game. A by-stander took video footage, possibly putting himself at risk, however he managed to get a shot of a few people in the doorway of the train; those who pushed the Parisian commuter twice out of the train. We cannot hear what was said, but readers are asked to help identify those involved. It may have been that the train was full? There wasn't a lot of room in the doorway, so that might have been an excuse, but the chanting of “we are rascist and that's the way we like it” suggests that the perpertrators were making a point of not wanting a black person in their carriage. http://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2015/feb/17/chelsea-fans-prevent-black-man-boarding-paris-metro-video Once this news was made public, the various chat shows today have been full of nothing else. The danger of slipping back to the old ways of the “Firm”, using football an excuse to make political point, has been discussed to death and phone-ins have been inundated with ex-players, fans and public. Is Chelsea FC to blame? Is football?
What seems to have been pushed to the background is the fact that Adrian Chiles didn't front the TV broadcast, having handed over to Mark Pougatch. Educated at Malvern College, an Independent School, and Durham University, Pougatch is married to Lady Victoria Scott, the youngest daughter of the 5th Earl of Eldon. Chiles, on the other hand, is a working class Brummie, who worked in the family scaffolding firm, supports West Bromwich Albion! He was earning £4.5 million pa as a football presenter, though-the boy's done well-up till now.
To add to this news, Chelsea's Costa got the same rating in the Times, as Ibrahimovic from PSG, both 5/10. The press has definitely been distracted.

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