Absolutely UNITED

United, Arsenal, Race And Football

Henry Kiribige’s article about the foreign invasion of players in the Premiership, in which he referred to Arsenal as ‘Nigeria,’ excited the sensitivities of some fans.

Amid allegations of racism, demands were made to the editor to withdraw the post.

Read the article, the comments of other readers, the viewpoints of AU correspondent James and the editor and then you decide…

James

First things first. I like this website. I’ve read it since last year and as United sites go, it’s not bad at all.

But I was annoyed with the site when I read the article written by columnist Henry Kibirige. It was about the influx of foreign players into the Premier League but the part that got my blood boiling was when he referred to the Arsenal team.

“So you look at our friends Arsenal and conclude that they might as well wear green kits and be called Nigeria. The number of black players in that team is staggering, especially as it’s an English club.”

This is the 21’st century. It is the year 2007. Why should a writer from this site be ’staggered’ by the number of black players at Arsenal? Is it racism? Is it sheer stupidity? Or is it just a failure to accept that racial origin might not be uppermost in Arsene Wenger’s mind when he selects his best team.

Football has come a long way from the days when the BNP openly recruited on the terraces and chairmen and managers ‘informally’ agreed a ‘no more than 3′ rule for black players in the first team. Arsenal’s success this season will only accelerate that progress.

If only some fans and writers moved as fast.

Yours disappointed

James

…

EDITOR’S REPLY

Hello James

Thanks for your message and your interest in AbsolutelyUNITED.

I think Henry Kibirige’s point mainly reflected the changing face of football. I read the ‘racial’ comment to which you refer as more a reflection of the multi-national nature of the Arsenal first 11 and Wenger’s success in recruiting players from Africa.

You make some important points about football and race. Every time I see John Barnes dancing the Salsa on Saturday Night television, I am reminded of his early days at Liverpool and the shower of bananas and abuse that greeted him when he took his first corner at Everton.

Thankfully, football has changed, as we have documented in these pages. Such shameful scenes are no longer tolerated and the informal rule you speak of has been largely jettisoned too. Wenger can select teams featuring seven or more top black players but Sir Alex could also field a United side containing Brown, Ferdinand, Simpson, Evra, Anderson, Nani, Giggs and Saha - all of whom have black ancestors.

This website has a track record of accepting articles from United fans with something to say. We try not to censor opinions. I cannot speak for Henry’s motivation but accept his bona fides.

However, I understand that the number of black players at Arsenal is a matter of pride for Britain’s black community, as are the strides anti-racism campaigners have made to eliminate the problem from the Premiership since Eric Cantona’s kung fu fighting at Crystal Palace.

Yet this subject is rarely discussed in the mainstream media precisely because of the reaction Henry’s article has provoked. Race and sport is a potent cocktail in today’s pigmentocracy. In the United States and France, teams with a majority of black athletes are fast becoming the norm. Is Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal a sign of the future here in Blighty? If so, will it pass without comment?

I trust that the majority of fans will not have been offended by Henry’s work. Let me be quite clear, Absolutely UNITED offers no welcome to racists, nor will it accept the existence of sacred cows or taboos.

HENRY KIRIBIGE

I didn’t mean it to be racist in any way, shape or form. I wrote this article to try and highlight the massive changes that are going on in football concerning the number of foreign players in the Premiership.

My whole attitude on the situation is that I am in-between. I am on neither side of the argument. The line about ‘Nigeria’, was an attempt at humour. But I don’t see that as racism.

editor posted this article under Red Corner, Editor's Blog on Monday, November 12th, 2007 at 12:27 pm You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment or trackback from your own site.