Is this the most ridiculous example yet of the classic ‘I’m not racist but….’, uttered just before going on to say something blatantly racist?

The largest fan group of Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg has demanded the club refrain from buying black and gay players.

“We’re not racists but we see the absence of black players at Zenit as an important tradition,” Zenit fan club Landscrona said in a letter, called the “Selection 12 manifesto”, posted on its website on Monday.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/dec/17/zenit-st-petersburg-fan-group

Russians are weird Fact 😉

I’m not being racist but…Russian football fans do seem to be some of the most racist d1ckheads about

It’s the clubs money and their choice, like it or not. Are you suggesting they ship in a “token” to keep the rest of the world happy.? I don’t agree with their policy and I am not a racist but…

Having obsessive, rascism police, on this forum is Russians are weird Fact

There are racists in Russia?

Seems fine to me. It’s there team and their money. I dare say that south american teams have the same policy for ginger scots.

If this was about maintaining a link between the local community and the football team then they would have my sympathy.

who knew how easy it was to out the obvious trolls 😕

Is this any worse than Catalan teams refusing to allow non-Catalan players to play for them?

Note: I’m not sure if any teams practice this policy still.

I’m assuming there are black Catalans just as there are black Scots and English.

They also expressed their opposition to having “sexual minorities” in the team.

🙄

yes but is that any worse than what ever glib comparison I choose to make ?

I reckon you’re thinking of the Basque teams rather than the Catalans. Barca have the best players from the world over. Bilbao, I think, only have Basque players.

yorkshire cricket had a similar policy for a long time

Basque/Catalan – they’re all the same, eh!

Sorry, yes: Basque teams 😳

I rather liked Yorkshire’s old rule for the Cricket team about only being able to represent the county if you were born in the county. This is just crap though – if they had just put the region bit then fine, the colour specific bit is just racist. And the homophobic bit…..

I have dealt with (rich) Russians through work and the only nationality that have been more offensive with racist comments were the Kazakh’s I’ve met. And yes, I appreciate the irony of my comment!

Sorry, yes: Basque teams

Fernando Amorebieta

Apologies, again: I hadn’t read the whole thing (bloody work, ya know). This is nothing like the Basque, thing. I can’t condone that policy whatsoever, although I am not surprised.

seba his mum and dad are both basques so I assume they and he consider himself to be a basque as well as the club.

Not sure on the last point tbh

yorkshire cricket had a similar policy for a long time

Rather a lot of people with skin colours other than white have been born in Yorkshire.

I think it would be good if more British/local players played for British teams, but there’s a crucial difference between that and this surely?

south american teams have the same policy for ginger scots.

I’m not racist but ginger scots are likely to be rubbish at football and easily sunburnt, therefore not suitable for a South American team. 😉

but there’s a crucial difference between that and this surely?

What there is a difference between wanting to see a football team at the heart of the local community and being a racist homophobic bigot

Its PC gone mad on here

I’m not being racist but…Russian football fans do seem to be some of the most racist d1ckheads about

As opposed to Guardian-reading, monocle wearing intellectuals that are the majority of UK football fans? Surely you jest, comrade.

As opposed to Guardian-reading, monocle wearing intellectuals that are the majority of UK football fans?

Like this gentleman

as a footy fan is safe to say it gets the baser elements of our society but you cannot deny the hard work done to rid racism from our game and from the terraces. A battle as yet not won but compare this to the eastern European approach and attitudes. In italy for example the ultra are also linked with right wing groups

We are not perfect but there are efforts to eradicate it

Homophobia is a battle that has not even be started though after Justin fashanau

In 1990, he publicly came out as gay in an interview with the tabloid press, becoming the only prominent player in English football so far to do so. Many former colleagues spoke out in anger against him, stating that gays had no place in a team sport, and his brother John publicly disowned him.[10] Although he claimed that he was generally well accepted by his fellow players, he freely admitted that they would often joke maliciously about his sexual orientation, and he also became the target of constant crowd abuse because of it.

he later committed suicide

Indeed, or the misguided son of Luton “Tommy Robinson”.

They also expressed their opposition to having “sexual minorities” in the team.

Sexual minorities? Is that like males in Scotland? Because there’s more women than blokes up here now according to the census. Shame the scenery is lowsy and the access laws are prohibitive.

Lardcore, how dare you! I wear contact lenses, not a monocle.

Bit odd though, Witsel is already a Zenit player (cost £30m+) & is of mixed race heritage!?

EDIT: google says his mother if from the Caribbean

Football has no class and is only followed by people who need to feel that they belong to something.

Used to be a footy fan until I realised it has a fanbase I wouldn’t be associated with.

😛

I assume when you stopped, that was football ridding itself of the last vestiges of classiness. Seeing as your first point is so, erm, classy.

See how they like scousers now I guess

It’s the clubs money and their choice, like it or not. Are you suggesting they ship in a “token” to keep the rest of the world happy.? I don’t agree with their policy and I am not a racist but…

The proposal is not that the club be forced to hire “shipped in” nonwhites for the reason of serving foreigners’ preferences. The proposal is that the club doesn’t hire nonwhites for any reason. You may be surprised to hear that there are non white Russian citizens and nonwhite players in the Russian leagues.

Surely the surprise that there are racist Russians is feigned.

Sexual minorities is a not uncommon term.

Zenit fans have been vocal in criticizing the dodgy St Pete governor. But like Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade, it’s the whole reason why footie fans and hooligans have such political sway is because it’s one of the few places where thousands of men can gather in one place in an authoritarian society.

As with all precipitated scandals in Russia, my first question is: who benefits from planting this story?