Football didn’t come home, racism did

What you need to know:

Mesut Ozil, famously said: ‘’I am German when we win, an immigrant when we lose.’’

After the World Cup of 2018 the Germany Men’s national football team, a.k.a the Manschaft, fell into a crisis.

Germany, the reigning World Champions; a feat they achieved in Brazil in 2014, dropped like a hot potato, out of the competition in Russia in the group stages.

Here we had a team that had won the coveted tournament coming 4th (last) in a group which had Sweden, Mexico, and South Korea – teams that had never played a final.

Like most serious societies usually do, a postmortem was in order to get to the root of the problem. Unfortunately, in Europe the knee jerk reaction in such circumstances is to blame it on race and its cousin, the immigrant.

Mesut Ozil, a German of Turkish origin, became the target. He was abused out of the team for which he played 92 times. He famously said: ‘’I am German when we win, an immigrant when we lose.’’

Sunday night when the highly billed final of the European Championship was played, all was going well. They seemed poised to win a trophy 55 years after they last won the World Cup in 1966. ‘It’s coming home, football is coming home,’ they sung. I am no fan of England. In fact I was praying that they lose the game.

But I could not hide my admiration for the fact that this time round they had put together a young team that played very attractive football. The manner in which they reached the final was also one to behold. Conceded only one goal along the way. No loss.

Come the final. Again all was going to plan. England looking in very early. Then Italy equalizing. Then the dreaded penalties. England never wins those, history tells us. Still there was hope. No condition is permanent.

It is when three very young Black English players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka missed their penalty kicks, consigning England to another heart rending defeat, that my heart started racing. I could hear the words of Mesut Ozil ringing in my head.

For those players indeed, the fans went. They called them names because of their skin color something they never mentioned when England was winning.  The great team became good white players and lousy black players that are up to no good.

Race in sport and society, despite all the perceptible effort made and seen to be made to kick it out, is still alive and kicking.

All the laws, that have brought society this far, allowing black people to vote, own property and all that comes with equal rights almost pale out whenever there is a crisis of sorts. We always go back to square one. Blame it on this or that color or that religion.

But why? Human beings from childhood do not grow up with racial awareness. They only become alive to it as they enter the world in which they have to compete for space, for jobs, for resources, for recognition, for achievement.

This is where the evil of politics and the politician come in handy. The politician’s mode of operation and survival rests on promising heaven and high water even if he does not have it or know how to get it. Promise, they must for that is their trade.

When they don’t deliver which is more often than not, then the scapegoat comes in handy. Where there is an abundance of black people then it is them. Same case with immigrants, the other tribe, the other religion and even the other gender.

The politician will not hesitate to take shelter under the excuse that touches the emotions more than speaks to reason and reality.

Imagine a person seeking a job at the level of an executive being told that it is the black migrants who are taking up all the jobs due to affirmative actions that have left him empty handed.

Meanwhile, the black immigrants are gladly slaving away at menial, blue collar and odd jobs to keep their skins together and send some little money back home to keep the people there above water.

The politician will not have the courage to say that the job market is shrinking because of the failed (capitalistic) economic policies being perused that intend to pamper the few rich by helping them to cut costs. Cutting costs includes reducing on the wage bill and that means the job must go. After the job has gone there is no social safety net to talk about because the rich and those who can are not being disturbed with taxes to pay for an equitable social safety net. The logic is hidden behind the color of the skin and perpetuated with subtlety.

Instances of racial abuse then become full blown attacks whenever there is a need to calm frustration. It comes out of the it’s hidden space like darkness brings cockroaches out of their crevices.

The abuse of Black English players will not go away by mere slogans and campaigns to kick racism out of football and society.

It will come to an end when politicians own up to their own failings and not use color and creed as a fallback position whenever it is convenient.

It is still early days. We are going to live this way for a long time to come. Football did not come home, the reality of firmly rooted racism did.

Mr Sengoba is a commentator on political and social issues

Twitter: @nsengoba