Bearing Fruit
“Spain’s FA say their anti-racism drive has ‘borne fruit’: ‘We’ve done our utmost,’ says President Angel Maria Villar, ‘and we’ve had success.’ Among La Liga’s best signal moves so far: fining Real (annual profit £190m) £6,000 for Nazi salutes and flags; fining Getafe and Atleltico £435 each for ‘nigger’ chants; fining Deportivo, Albacete and Malaga £411 for sustained abuse including a physical attack on ‘black shit’ Paulo Wanchope; stopping regular grants to the Coalition Against Racism; shrugging off Getafa’s PR plan to ‘prove we’re no racists’ by blacking up players’ faces with boot polish for a photo shoot and - new last week - reacting to the cancellation of Luis Aragones £2,000 fine for calling Thierry Henry a ‘black shit’; ‘It is clear’ says Villar. ‘What he said wasn’t racist.’ Aragones says he’s ‘content’. ‘The fine was simply wrong. The whole thing was a stain on my reputation’”
David Hills, The Observer, 11/02/07