The true cost of racism.

Earlier this week I made a post the day following the news broke regarding racist chants directed at Bili Tygri Liberec forward Wayne Simmonds. Chants of 'opice' (monkey) at Simmonds dominated the news following the game between his Liberec side and Pirati Chomutov, with the fans of Chomutov accused of directing these chants at the Philadelphia Flyers forward . These fans have already been handed lifetime bans by the club, however, there has yet to be any concrete proof linking these fans to the racist abuse directed at Simmonds.

Wayne Simmonds scored twice against Kometa after
being subject to racist taunts against Chomutov
Photo: Joerg Stephan

I have conversed numerous times with a Chomutov fan Jirka Malis, on twitter (Follow him @ https://twitter.com/jirkam), and I spoke to him about this incident in detail. Jirka, a passionate follower of Pirati Chomutov, gave me a different perspective on what happened during the game with Liberec. Of course, after I saw the news break on the Czech sites, I was disgusted at the fact that Simmonds had been subject to racist abuse, but there is more to this scenario that meets the eye.

To start with, it is right to give the fan culture in the Czech Republic some context. In terms of the Chomutov fans, Jirka gives me a correct example, in the fact that he divides the fans into three main groups. Firstly, you have what are described as the "passive fans" or the happy clappers, who only cheer when the team are winning. Secondly, you have the passionate fans who love their hockey. The drummers, the people who lead the majority of the chants. This is the group that Jirka identifies himself in, and these are the fans who on the whole, make the Czech Extraliga such a great league to watch because of the atmosphere generated by these fans. Thirdly, you have the "nationalist core" (or for the purpose of this article, the "deep core"). These people, supporting their far right ideology no doubt excerpt influence on the politics of their local region, but on the whole they appear to make their fans cheer louder in the games, and make sure that even when the side is losing, the fans are giving their all to support their team, Pirati Chomutov.

Following the game against Liberec, the clubs official Facebook posted that they would not accept the word "monkey" at their stadium any more, and a number of Chomutov fans were asked to testify against members of the deep core as arrests were made following the game. In fact, members of the deep core were kept locked for over thirty hours following their arrest and questioning by the local police following the game against Liberec. This situation got so drastic that a large proportion of the Chomutov deep core refused to attend their 5:3 victory against Trinec following the heavy handed action of the local police against a minority of Chomutov fans. Five people from the Chomutov fan group were arrested, as well as named and shamed on nationwide telvision as a result of the case brought against them following the game against Liberec.

I do not condone racism by any means, and I believe that criminal cases should be brought against those who have been proven to have racially abused Wayne Simmonds last Sunday's game against Liberec. However, what I do not agree with is the heavy handedness of the Czech police and the club in the wake of this incident. It is embarrassing for both Pirati Chomutov and the Czech Republic that the event happened, but it is completely unsuitable for good, passionate fans of Chomutov, who are not proven of racism, to be feel like they are cast aside as the fall out from the incident takes place. People who have refused to testify against the racists as a result of shaky evidence fear for their position as a member of the fanclub because of the fact that they did not see the people who started the chant, and that they only heard it take place. Is it right that these fans of Pirati, who spend such a large proportion of their wages on following their club, at home and away, are threatened by lifetime bans because they refuse to testify against people whose alleged crimes are not 100% proven?

It is embarrassing for both club and country that what happened, happened. However, by being heavy handed, it could end up harming the club, and the country, a lot more than taking a step back and evaluating the situation from an objective point of view. There are clearly two points of view here, the club's view, which states that the fan club is a harbringer of racist activity, and the fans point of view, which is that the majority are being punished for the actions of the minority. Obviously I do not know what is right, and as I have previously stated, it is disgusting that Simmonds should be treated to the taunts that he was subject to in Chomutov. However, I don't feel that the heavy handed approach proposed by both the club, Pirati Chomutov, and the Czech police will serve to eradicate these racist tendencies. This heavy handed approach, of handing banning orders to fans who have yet to be proven of committing the acts will only serve to make an already disgruntled populace, even more agitated.

We can all point the finger from our point of view, but the Czech Republic has been living under different conditions to the Western world for a good fifty years before 1989, and even then the differences in culture between the Czech Republic and what was previously described as the "First World" are deeply rooted within the populace.

There are no winners from this situation, only losers.

Racist chants directed at Simmonds cloud Czech hockey

Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds was
subject to racist abuse in Chomutov on Sunday
Photo: piratichomutov.cz

Wayne Simmonds became the first black player to play in the Czech Extraliga this season, as the Philadelphia Flyers forward recently left 2.Bundesliga side Eispiraten Crimmitschau along with Chris Stewart and signed up with Petr Nedved's Bílí Tygři Liberec. Simmonds, who had played two games in the Extraliga before Sunday's game in Chomutov had got off to a confident start with the Czech side, but unfortunately in the third game, the NHLer was subject to racial abuse by a section of Pirati Chomutov supporters. Chomutov, who only joined the Extraliga this year have got off to a solid start playing wise, but this incident will certainly pose problems for the club.

The racial abuse, claimed by iSport (source), involved monkey chants being directed towards Simmonds. The taunts, allegedly came from the 'boiler' section of the Chomutov crowd, which are better known around the world as ultras. The abuse is said to have come at the end of the game, after Chomutov won the game in overtime. While the club have been quick to disassociate themselves with the fans that abused Simmonds, it does give a sad reflection into the cultural issues which have continually clouded the Slavic world since the fall of socialism in the late 1980s. Only a few weeks ago, there were vehement claims of racial abuse directed towards black English U-21 footballers whilst they played an away game in Serbia.

Pirati Chomutov, and the majority of their fans do come out of this with some credit. On the mainpage of the clubs website, there is a long statement and a written apology to Simmonds. Marketing director David Dinda is quoted as saying: "We are disgusted by the behavior of a group of spectators, who greatly damaged the reputation of the club. We would like to deeply apologize to Simmonds and all the players of the Liberec team".

General manager Jaroslav Veverka was particularly honest in his assessment of the situation on the same page. "Today we got two points (important points). However, what some of  "our" fans showed was the worst I've ever seen at a hockey game! It was embarrassing and pathetic. I ask these people to not attend hockey games in Chomutov. The club in no way endorses their opinions and absolutely does not respect them! On behalf of the partners and the owners of the club, we say in addition: Do not come to hockey in Chomutov! We are not interested in fans like that!".

Veverka also went on to say: "We will do everything possible to prevent entry to the people who were the originators of these chants. And it will be permanent".

At the bottom of the page is a written apology to Simmonds, where the club claims that they do not consider those who gave the abuse fans of their club, and that they are sincerely sorry for what occurred.

All these words from Chomutov look good on paper, but unless they prevent it from happening again when Liberec play in Chomutov then they will be hollow. Also, steps must be taken nationwide to stop this from becoming a common occurence whenever Simmonds and his Liberec side are playing away from home. Sports and conservative opinions have always been closely linked, especially in the former Eastern Bloc, but it is simply unacceptable in this day and age, for such a quickly developing country for such events like this to take place.

Despite what Pirati try to state in their statements, the club and the Czech Republic comes away from this fiasco with egg on their faces. We can only hope that Simmonds is able to continue playing for Liberec without the fear of racist chants coming from the crowds, and that he is able to enjoy his stay in the Czech Republic, for however long he remains there.