Mighty Zoro leaves his mark
The brave stand of one Messina player against Internazionale fans has made all of Italy sit up and acknowledge the problem of stadium racism
James Richardson
Tuesday November 29, 2005
Guardian Unlimited
So bad they're good - that's Inter's fans. Last season the barrage of missiles and flares they aimed at Milan goalkeeper Nelson Dida, securing the Champions League crowd ban they've just finished serving, provoked a far-reaching reform of stadium security in Italy. Now, hopefully, their treatment of Messina's Marc Zoro might have the same effect on Italy's attempts to tackle stadium racism.
For anyone who doesn't know the story, a quick recap: Sunday afternoon's match between Messina and Internazionale was marred by monkey chants and other racist abuse aimed at the Ivory Coast defender by sections of the away support. A quarter of an hour into the second half, Zoro decided he'd had enough, picked up the ball and approached the referee to request that the game be suspended.
There followed the curious scene of Inter's Brazilian striker Adriano desperately trying to drag Zoro back by the shirt to stop him reaching the official. When these attempts failed, the subsequent sideline conference between the referee and Zoro was interrupted by Adriano and two other Inter players, Obafemi Martins and Marco Materazzi, who convinced Zoro to play on.
"They were very kind" said Marc afterwards. "Martins and Adriano both said that this kind of thing happens to them a lot too, and not to let it provoke me. But they seemed more concerned with getting the game restarted and avoiding any complications than anything else. I came back on to avoid causing them problems." The final whistle saw Zoro's story flash all over Italy. Gestures of solidarity came thick and fast, the most curious of which saw Sunday night's big football show on state television, La Domenica Sportiva, broadcasting its opening minutes in black and white.
The league, bless, has announced a five-minute delay to all this weekend's kick-offs, to allow players to protest against racism. It should go without saying that none of that will make much difference - they often kick off late anyway. Still, the volume and intensity of the reaction to Zoro's brave gesture suggests that, for once, the abuse won't end up being swept under Serie A's already bulging carpet. This kind of nonsense is nothing new and has been going on at Italian grounds for decades. Back in the 1980's it was regional racism, with the southern fans, in particular Neapolitans, the subject of choruses anywhere north of Rome ("Smell that stink, even the dogs are running. It must be the Neapolitans coming").
The league does little to counter it. So far this season, four similar cases have been met with fines. Last season, Serie B side Verona did receive a stadium ban for racist abuse of a Perugia player, but such unpleasantness is generally dismissed as an unpleasant fact of stadium life.
It's comical to think that, of the two occasions I can recall a referee actually halting play in Italy for crowd abuse, both were for banners insulting a senior league bigwig. By contrast, racist, anti-semitic banners - including the jolly Swastika some Lazio fan was waving at Empoli this Sunday - are greeted with cheery indifference.
Zoro's brave gesture may change that, having upped the ante and forced the authorities to take seriously the idea of suspending matches due to racism. It may well have opened a few player's minds too - if there is a next time, perhaps we won't see just one player walking with the others attempting to drag him back.
source: guardian.co.uk
