Lennon wrong to play on
FERN LANE argues that by choosing to play on for `Northern Ireland' in the absence of action against the bigots on the Windsor Park terraces, Neil Lennon is doing himself, soccer and wider society a grave disservice and is, however unwittingly, helping to perpetuate the casual acceptance of sectarianism at all levels of Six-County society.
The protestations of the IFA that they will ``clamp down on the bigots'' who inhabit Windsor Park mirrors those of the FA that they will take action against racists on English terraces
So Neil Lennon has decided to continue playing for `Northern Ireland', in apparent defiance of a section of the home crowd, which booed him during the team's recent defeat by Norway at Windsor Park. He has received much praise for this willingness to represent a team, many of whose fans appear to despise him. Given the severity of his experience (which continued off the pitch with threatening graffiti and death threats posted on the Follow Follow Rangers Web site) it is quite tempting to join in with those who are applauding his courage - even if it remains profoundly mystifying why he would have chosen to play for `Northern Ireland' in the first place.
But it could also be said that a more defiant - and probably more courageous - gesture would have been for Lennon to tell Sammy McIlroy and the footballing authorities that he would not wear a `Northern Ireland' shirt until the sectarianism which is tolerated at every level of football in the Six Counties has been comprehensively taken on and defeated. Instead, Lennon seems to be content merely to demonstrate the broadness of his shoulders and accept, as his manager and many of his fellow players do, that as a Catholic and a Celtic player, such abuse is inevitable.
His experience during the match against Norway was in some ways consistent with that of, particularly black, but also foreign players in the English league, who are still subjected to appalling racism and xenophobia, including on occasion from their own fans. Despite high-profile campaigns against such behaviour, there has in practice traditionally been an ethos of implicit tolerance of racism within football grounds. Match commentators, for example, are extremely reluctant to make any reference to it whatsoever - to the point where those watching on television remain entirely ignorant of it - and very few fans have actually been barred for racist chanting.
The protestations of the IFA that they will ``clamp down on the bigots'' who inhabit Windsor Park mirrors those of the FA that they will take action against racists on English terraces. Given that such sectarian chanting and singing has happily existed for as long as there has been a `Northern Ireland' team containing Catholics, the sudden issuing of a shiny new code of conduct begs the question: why now?
The answer is, of course, the embarrassment of being caught out and the prospect of further international humiliation during the forthcoming game against the Czech Republic. In the same way the establishment threw up its hands in horror last summer when the carryings-on of the Orange Order were captured on film - as if it was the first time the Order's members had indulged themselves in sectarianism - the IFA suddenly affects open-mouthed, we-never-knew shock that loyalist fans should sing sectarian songs from the terraces or harass one of their `own' players.
Despite the IFA's stated intention to impose life bans on fans who display sectarianism (which again reflects the FA's similarly hollow promises with regard to racists) there remains a pervasive attitude amongst the footballing cognoscenti that racist and/or sectarian behaviour is merely a component of `banter'; an integral and eternal element of football which players should learn to put up with. Jamie Rednapp, for example, is commended for the way he laughs off abusive sexual chants about his wife, whereas David Beckham is criticised for the fact that he has a tendency to become visibly upset when similar ones are directed at his. Why such chanting is allowed in the first place is never actually discussed. When Eric Cantona famously lashed out at a Crystal Palace fan who, after screaming racist abuse at him throughout the match, ran down to the front of the stand to continue doing so as Cantona was sent off, it was Cantona who came in for the heaviest criticism. The argument was that, as a player on a stratospheric wage, he should have been able to, indeed was morally obliged to, ignore the abuse. The fact that he, like every other professional, was paid to play football and not to be called a ``dirty French wanker'' or to be told that his mother is a ``slag'', was not considered an argument worthy of much consideration.
A similar attitude was adopted by many in respect of Neil Lennon, but again the same counter-argument can be applied. It is not for Lennon, or indeed any other player, to ignore sectarian abuse; it is for the authorities - and that includes the stewards who so assiduously disregarded what was happening to him during the Norway game - to ensure that it does not occur in the first place and when it does that it is properly punished.
But ultimately what happened at Windsor Park was about far more than whether footballers should ignore racist, sectarian or any other abuse from the stands that is not directly related to their performance on the pitch. It was also an event with deeply social and political implications extending far beyond football into the power structures which have encouraged and sustained sectarianism. ``McIlroy needs to sort out his defence'' wrote one commentator. He certainly does. His appalling dismissal of the sectarian abuse as ``not that bad'' translates into a statement that such extreme sectarianism is a way of life in the Six Counties; is a normal, acceptable, everyday occurrence which only stirs anger or shock when it causes international embarrassment.
Neil Lennon, in accepting a place in the `Northern Ireland' team and playing under these circumstances, has implied that he too accedes to this point of view.
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