In the face of the horrific scenes that the world has been exposed to over the last week, it has been interesting to note the reaction of our Premier League clubs and some of our football fans. I will go on to comment and highlight the wonderfully humane response of many clubs on the continent, and to be fair a few from the lower reaches of the British football hierarchy. But, first let’s draw the spotlight on the Premier League.
Football fans are generally a socially and morally responsible group of individuals/groups and I expect that by the time we see the resumption of the Premier League this weekend a common theme running through all the match of the day highlights will be the fact that almost all of the main supporter clubs will have got their #RefugeesWelcome banners designed, produced and proudly aired in front of millions of TV viewers.
It would be unfair to be too critical of the fan groups as supporters clubs are run by volunteers and meetings need to be convened to agree any such political messages; and let’s be clear, football clubs and political messages do not normally go hand-in-hand. Football clubs on the other hand have been spectacularly silent, with the exception of Aston Villa, who no doubt inspired by the brilliant support being coordinated in Germany, announced that their televised game will be a public show of support for the refugees. Celtic, Swindon Town, Kingstonian, Crewe, Charlton, Clacton and FC United have all been setting the right example as well. Apart from Villa, Premiership clubs have been deafeningly silent. My apologies if I have not listed any other clubs and supporters groups who have taken on similar initiatives.
Our Prime Minister David Cameron announced last week that he felt the UK was already effectively doing enough to help the refugees, but in the face of a public backlash following the tragic death of a 3-year old refugee washed up on the beaches of Bodrum, he has had to make a humiliating climb down and announce that 20,000 Syrian refugees will be taken into the UK over a 5 year period (note Germany took 20,000 this weekend alone).
Germans – we love to beat them at football don’t we? Well, when it comes to humanitarian gestures there is no comparison. When it comes to humanity they are in a league of their own. From their mainstream politicians, their people, to their football clubs, they have embraced the refugee problem with a freshness treating these vulnerable people with the respect they and dignity that they deserve. Banners welcoming refugees to Germany have been in their football stadiums for at least a year. From Bayern Munich and Dortmund in the Bundesliga to St Pauli in the second tier and Babelsberg 03 in the fourth, all of them, and many more, have made it their mission to smash the myths of intolerance which so often unfairly associate with plight of refugees.
Football fans around the United Kingdom have a very unique opportunity before them. We can choose to build on the visionary stance adopted by the likes of fans from Villa, Celtic, Charlton Athletic, Swindon Town, FC United, Kingstonian, Clacton FC, Bayern Munich, St. Pauli and others, to help mould not just public opinion, but foreign policy in a compassionate way to help a group of people who are undoubtedly amongst the most vulnerable in the world at the moment. I have no doubt that this weekend is going to be completely symbolic. Is your club doing anything to help the refugees? You can tweet #RefugeesWelcome along with news of any initiatives.
Author Fevzi Hussein can be followed on Twitter @fevzihussein.
Source: DSG
