The anti-Islamic chants at Boro
Newcastle fans were apparently yelling anti-Islamic chants towards Middlesborough striker Mido throughout most of the game this past weekend. Just how offensive they were is difficult to ascertain since no one will print them anywhere. But generally speaking, picking on someone because of race, religion or gender is a nasty mean-spirited way of going about it.
The FA is looking into the story, though Boro are not filing a formal complaint. Maybe because they're embarassed that 3,000 away fans could make enough noise to be heard so loudly and clearly. Mido scored a fine goal in the fixture, and was then given a yellow card when he went up to the Newcastle section and put his fingers to his lips multiple times to shush them (pictured above). At the time, he seemed out of order. But given the chanting that was inaudible in the TV broadcast, I'd rather have seen the yellow go to the Newcastle bench.
Mido is, generally speaking and regardless of race, a jackass of the highest order. That being said, there's no place for this type of crap in professional sports. As this green Yank understands it, the famous singing and chanting in English football has often been of the low-brow variety, with one of the more famous and popular chants questioning Mr. Beckham as to which orifice his wife prefers during intercourse. And racist songs, while not nearly as common as they are in other countries or as they used to be in England, stil pop up a few times per season.
Hopefully, "the lads" can move into this century soon and find funny things to sing about besides the color of one's skin or religion. For starters, Mido is a fat whining crybaby who has never live up to his promise. Let's sing about that instead.
