From Caribbean360

LONDON, England, Friday May 9, 2014 – Twenty-seven years ago, Jamaican-born England international John Barnes was subjected to public racist abuse when a spectator hurled a banana at him during a match between Liverpool and Everton.

The former Liverpool great reacted to the insult by kicking the banana away, but subsequent events have showed that disposing of the mindset behind such incidents is not quite as easy as that.

Come 2014, the banana bunch was at it again, this time using the identical tactic to taunt Barcelona’s Dani Alves.

The Brazilian player responded by retrieving and eating the fruit that had been chucked at him by a Villarreal supporter.

Just one week after the Alves incident, Levante’s Senegalese player Papakouli Diop said he had been taunted by monkey chants from Atletico Madrid supporters.

While Jamaica-born Barnes, who played for England between 1983 and 1995, praised Villarreal for acting swiftly to ban the spectator who lobbed the banana at Alves, he nevertheless warned that football might be fighting a losing battle in trying to eradicate racist abuse.

Barnes believes that the very fact that bananas are still being thrown at games indicates that football’s approach to tackling discrimination is befuddled.

“The way we’re trying to deal with it, in terms of getting rid of it, is wrong. Only through education and making people know why it’s wrong [will] do it,” he said.

“Just by saying to people ‘You’re not allowed to do it’ without telling them why, explaining to them why… Or fining them when they do it, so they just keep their mouth shut, is not getting rid of it,” he was quoted as saying in a CNN report.

“Do we want to get rid of racism? Or do we want just not to hear it? What football is saying, by fining and banning people, is ‘You can be as racist as you want, but as long as you keep your mouth shut it’s fine.’ That’s not what I’m interested in.”

“These aren’t football’s problems. Until we get rid of it in society, we won’t get rid of it in football,” he added.

FIFA introduced a series of disciplinary measures after a number of high-profile racism cases last year.

For a first offense, the punishment is a warning, fine or the club in question being forced to play in an empty stadium.

A second or “serious” offense could result in demotion, a deduction of points or expulsion from a tournament.

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbean360.com/sports/jamaica-born-england-international-questions-soccers-racism-strategy?utm_source=Caribbean360%20Newsletters&utm_campaign=e3e7bcbe0c-Vol_9_Issue_093_News5_9_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_350247989a-e3e7bcbe0c-39393477