Ferdinand was simply booed for the ‘crime’ of being the brother of someone who alleges that he was the victim of racial abuse from Chelsea’s captain, John Terry.
It wasn’t even Anton Ferdinand who asked for the police to investigate the claims of racism made towards him by Terry. And so for him to be the target of abuse, as he has already been by Chelsea fans, quite shamefully, is shocking. To then boo Rio Ferdinand, seemingly for not liking someone accused of racially insulting his brother, is incredible.
Of course, Terry may be right and he denies all charges. But Chelsea’s fans know less than Rio about what happened. To then boo Ferdinand seems to be completely and utterly wrong and shows the worst part of football – the sheer tribalism. Ferdinand is guilty of nothing, and has done nothing to Chelsea, nor even Terry.
Chelsea fans’ behaviour seems to stem from the behaviour of Terry himself. Of course he may be innocent, but either way, he has behaved with no dignity in this whole situation, refusing to step down from the England captaincy and then having a fit of anger when he was, rightly removed from that position.
Chelsea fans seem to be defending Terry regardless for no reason other than he is their captain, so they follow him blindly. It is time for some fans to take a lead, morally, and hit back. To boo Ferdinand was shameful.
Chelsea fans should reflect on this and issue an apology to Ferdinand. When issues such as racism come up, this kind of tribalism is unacceptable. Wrong is wrong and right is right. The Liverpool Man Utd situation seems different, as Liverpool fans have never liked Patrice Evra, who accused Luis Suarez of racially abusing him. Suarez seemed to admit the charge, but insisted he wasn’t being racist as Uruguay does not have a history of racism as England does and so racial terms are made in a friendly manner there and accepted as such, rightly or wrongly, so that case is more nuanced. But Evra was already disliked so Liverpool’s abuse towards him was not quite as bad as the Chelsea fans behaviour towards Ferdinand.
And he is only the brother of the alleged victim. If when QPR visit Chelsea, they boo Anton Ferdinand, that will be the nadir. Ferdinand has even had a bullet sent to him in the post. All for the ‘crime’ of being allegedly racially abused. The time has come to end this madness. If Chelsea fans boo Ferdinand when they play QPR, the FA should act. A fine for Chelsea and being forced to play behind closed doors may be the only solution to this problem. Fans will always cheer their favourite players and boo those they don’t like. But to boo someone because he alleges racist abuse is unacceptable and can’t be allowed to persist. Action is vital, and the FA should be pro-active on this – and warn the club that any abuse of Ferdinand at Stamford Bridge won’t be tolerated and will be met with censure.
Some may say this curtails their freedom of speech – to cheer and boo whom they wish. But Ferdinand, and any other player who is allegedly racially abused, are being dissuaded from making such complaints in future if this happens again if they are hounded in the way the QPR defender is being. Their freedom, to be free from racist abuse and to feel free to make a complaint should it arise, is eroded if no action is taken against those who hound those who are simply trying to get justice done.
