I feel like I’m in some other-worldy, blogging Groundhog Day loop – and it’s sponsored by the letter “R.”
All I’m writing about is “rain” and “racism.” It is what it is, I suppose.
The 2012 UEFA European Championships will begin in less than 24 hours. The first two matches are up, Poland-Greece and Russia-Czech Republic.
And yet, here we are again, writing about the brainless scum who are threatening to put a very dark stain on an otherwise amazing tournament. (I always say, the quality of soccer at a European Championship is collectively superior to World Cup, mostly because the tournament doesn’t have a scattering of lesser lights dimming the corners of the tournament.)
Today comes the story of Netherlands captain Mark van Bommel, who will apparently have no compunction with leading his team off the field if they are racially abused, abused in a way they allegedly were during an incident at Thursday’s training session.
From the Daily Telegraph account:
Black players in the Dutch squad were subjected to “monkey chants” from supporters of Wisla Krakow during open training at the Polish club’s stadium on Wednesday, according to the midfielder.
Van Bommel said he led the players to the other end of the pitch after the chanting from around 500 fans as the squad ran past during two warm-up laps. The incident occurred just hours after the Holland squad had visited the World War Two concentration camp at Auschwitz, which is close to Krakow.
ProSoccerTalk is doing its best to keep you up to date on what’s going on in Poland and Ukraine. Check out the site’s Euro 2012 page and look at the site’s previews, predictions, and coverage of all the events defining UEFA’s championship.