Nice to see prejudice is a one way street when it comes to soccer in Israel. Beitar Jerusalem midfielder Derek Boateng was subjected to racial abuse that would have made Lazio fans and Spain coach Luis Aragones proud. The abuse was dished out by his own fans who were furious at Beitar's exit from the Champions League.
Beitar supporters are known for being extremist, right-wing ultras. Their racialism is usually directed at Arabs. Unfortunately for Boateng, he caught it full blast. Here's the video.
Besides the monkey noises, Boateng was subjected to chants of "Derek Boateng is a monkey" and "Derek Boateng is a son of a bitch". Other reports have noted that chants of "nigger" were also thrown in. I don't speak Hebrew but the reports I've seen seem to confirm each other and the one translation we were given also confirms what has been reported so far**. The hate continued until the fans were confronted by the team captain and another Israeli international.
The story gets stranger ... no, more fucked up. Boateng came out and denied the incident took place. Apparently, the club threatened to sack him after he made gestures to the fans in response to the abuse. Ghanaian news sites are calling him a compulsive liar for trying to cover up the situation. The guy can't win for trying. It's unclear what his contract situation is but he needs to get away from Beitar as soon as possible.
** It would be good to get another first-hand translation in case I'm missing some other insults.
I've tried to track down the story Real Sports did on Beitar and their ultras but I've had no luck so far.
1 comment:
and our foreign policy (more blowjobs please, Senator McCain) is dictated by these assholes?
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