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Yeah Laurie. Portugal gets the same nonsense. Most of those morons fail to understand what a multi-cultural society is all about. While there are pockets of these idiots in almost every country, Eastern European’s seem to suffer from it most lately. Countries like PT and FR are fortunate to have diverse ethnic communities. I wouldn’t change it for the world. By the way, some of the best afro-pop dance halls in the world are in Lisbon. Great places to spend all night dancing your butt off.

Posted from  United States

France is a melting pot & especially the city of Marseille. Black players are in the French National team because they earned it & they are all French citizens. Enough already with the non sense racial profiles.

Posted from  United States

I think this incident is more a display of ignorance than an insult. I mean, what does a map of Africa with the French colors over it have to do with the French team? France “colonized” the North and West of Africa, not the whole continent. The “colored” players on the French team are not from Egypt, Ethiopia, Rwanda, etc.

That said, here are my two cents: I don’t like all these gimmicks where two weeks before the announcement of which national team players are going on the field, there are suddenly passports issued left and right.

I realize this is a romanticism, because what drives sports is money. But I respect more a player who plays in the national team of the country he is born in.

France today reminds you of the U.S. one hundred years ago, where sports were one of the very few ways a colored man could achieve financial status. If you think about it, it really doesn’t say anything about tolerance in France (see last year’s city-burnings).

unfortunately this is a point of view also shared by citizens of France. I guess they’re upset because we don’t have more Blancs and Dechamps within our ranks and they fear the next generation of the French National Team be dependent on immigrants and children of immigrants to keep our team alive. Although I don’t share this point of view it’s quite obvious that most of the racial tension comes from within the French boarders.

Posted from  Canada

There’s so much stupidity and ignorance about this whole issue both within and without France, it drives me nuts!

Let’s get something straight (and this is the first thing I tell anyone who brings up this crap): the non-white French players on the national squad were all either born in France or emigrated to France at a very young age (ages like 2, 4, 8).

They didn’t need to get any French passports to play for the national team because THEY ALREADY HAD THEM!

In other words–this is the critical point–THEY’RE FRENCHMEN!! Born and raised and educated in France. This persistent myth that France plunders Africa for players is crap. France didn’t go to Africa and pluck these players from African leagues. They were born in France or got there as infants/toddlers when their parents emigrated.

Go tell Patrick Vieira, Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry they’re not authentic Frenchmen and see how long your face remains un-introduced to their fists.

It’s all very similar to the discourse that went on in the US from the early 20th century until about the 70s or even as late as the 80s.

Over time, American blacks came to dominate American basketball and football. For decades this really upset white Americans, esp. in the south. They felt that these two sports were no longer representative of America since to them America meant white. It took decades of education and struggle, but these prejudices against black players in American sports are now a minority opinion.

Do you really believe that this idiotic discourse about the French squad would even exist if these players’ parents had emigrated from Eastern Europe, Italy, Greece and other caucasian-blessed countries? It’s all about the fact that they’re black.

Interestingly, hispanics have begun to show a preponderance in American baseball in the last 20-30 years. This too has made some Americans upset. Some are saying the great American game is being taken over by illegals and “wetbacks” (an ugly racist term). But because of the previous process of education and acceptance in football and basketball, there’s comparatively less rancor about it.

In time, this acceptance will happen in France also. Many French people will go kicking and screaming all the way (the way so many Amerians did) but they’ll get there. Actually, a good majority are already there since most French people had little trouble accepting this national squad as representing them.

I have to wonder if the same realtively quick process of acceptance by a majority in Eastern Europe, Italy, Germany, England or Spain would occur if their national squads had so many non-white players.

Posted from  United States

very strange — there’s a smilie where I wrote the number eight

Posted from  United States

It’s the computer god smiling at you.

ok, I’ll remember that the next time I type that number!

Posted from  United States

The American national basketball team is made up of mostly African Americans. African Americans are 13% of the American population.

The French national football team is made up of many immigrant French citizens. The immigrant population (first and second generation, I believe) are 22% of the French population.

To put things into perspective, I think.

Posted from  United States

well sometimes i do wonder if there are french ppl on the french team

i dont think its racial

Posted from  Canada

For what it’s worth, the following players from Wednesday’s game were born in France:

Anelka
Cisse
Benzema
Nasri
Diaby
L. Diarra
Abidal
Escude
Mexes
Clerc
Gallas
Coupet

The following players were born outside of France:

Thuram (Guadaloupe, to France @ 9 yrs.)
Malouda(French Guyana, I can’t find info on France arrival)
Mavuba (born at sea, I believe he went to France immediately after)

So in any other country of the world, which of these players would not qualify as belonging to the country they play for?

Posted from  United States

Goddamn it, these things never end. Remember when Jean-Marie Le Pen (the leader of France’s National Front for those who don’t know) said that the reason why France wasn’t doing so well (before the World Cup) was because of the racial unbalance? Vieira was born in Senegal, so was Evra, and I think it’s stupid to represent another country (I’m talkin’ to you, Owen Hargreaves!). Even though I don’t have a sense of pride towards my country, I wouldn’t go and play for Scotland if I had the chance (I could if I wanted to). Thuram, Malouda, Dhorasoo (remember him?) are born in FRANCE. French Guyanna, Guadeloupe, New Caledonia, it’s all part of France. Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids are from Surinam, which belonged to the Netherlands. People who bitch about all the Africans on the French team, for example, fall into two categories.
1. Racists
2. Idiots who don’t realize that Cissé, Anelka, Diarra, Abidal et al are born and raised in France.

Shut. Up. Christ.

Posted from  Canada

As an Ethiopian and a proud African, it would have been nice to see a player like Vieira represent Senegal instead of France. With that said, a little more than half of French citizens are foreign that are from other European countries, Africa, Asia and even Australia. For me, personally, I would never want to represent a country that colonized you for centuries. But, on the other hand, most African federations are so corrupt and badly managed that it is a headache for the footballers. I guess it comes down to pride and love for your native country to withstand the nuisance of badly run African federations.

Posted from  United States

Hitler was right :

If the development of France in the present style were to be continued for three hundred years, the last remnants of Frankish blood would be submerged in the developing European-African mulatto state. An immense self-contained area of settlement from the Rhine to the Congo, filled with a lower race gradually produced from continuous bastardization.

(from Mein Kampf)

Posted from  United Kingdom

To ms: Hitler also said that Jews, Russians and Poles were subhuman. Was he right about that too?

Posted from  United States

Sorry but you guys have taken this off into stupid land. Bottom line is that in today’s world, being French, American or Portuguese for that matter means a lot more then being of a particular ethnic origin. I’ll leave it at that.

Posted from  United States

Isn’t the combination of free speech and internet anonymity a great thing? Pigheaded racists can hide behind fake names and quote Hitler and face no repercussions. I won’t even delete your comment.

The fact that the France players can deal with this kind of thing day after day after day and still manage to be among the best in the world makes me proud to be a France fan.

Posted from  United States

fab:
“well sometimes i do wonder if there are french ppl on the french team
i dont think its racial”

Of course it’s racial! I’m sorry but this comment just proves my entire point. You would never “wonder” about such a thing if the players were all white and were immigrants from caucasian countries. And to repeat: the majority of these nonwhite players were BORN IN FRANCE: exactly why is it that YOU refuse to acknowledge them as Frenchmen when THEY consider themselves as French?

And let’s get one thing straight once and for all: there seems to be this idiotic crap idea that just because you’re born in one country (Vieira) and then emigrate to another country (even at a very young age) where you’re raised and educated, then you can never be an authentic citizen of your new host country.

Well excuse me: just because I was born in Brazil doesn’t mean I’m not an American. I came to this country at the age of 4, was raised and educated here. I’m a US citizen. So why can’t I be considered an American? Why is it that Patrick Vieira can’t be considered an authentic Frenchman? He emigrated to France at the age of 7 or younger, was raised and educated there, and he ALWAYS played football there. Exactly what makes him incapable of being called a Frenchman?

WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF AN AUTHENTIC FRENCHMAN?

I guess you’re in complete agreement with the French racists of Jean Marie Le Pen and his ilk who refuse to acknowledge the French team as being truly French — just because they’re all black.

Is the American politician Barack Obama not truly American because his parents are immigrants?

Patrick Vieira is French. He is also Senegalese by origin. He doesn’t know Senegal very well at all–he spent nearly his entire life in France. He considers himself a Frenchman and a Senegalese — and is quite proud to do so. Why do you prefer to stand alongside the nazis and racists like Le Pen who refuse to recognize him as such?

Posted from  United States

I came back to this post after a few days and I would like to explain a couple of things:

My comment about people getting passports to get into a national team was not made in regards to the French team. In fact, I don’t think there is ONE single player on the French team who wasn’t a French national already before being called in.

Let’s face it, France is a tremendous team and Domenecq did a great job putting those players together.

The class and speed of Henry, the amazing energy of Ribery, the control of Zidane (I was disappointed by his surrendering to cheap, provoked-provocations, but that’s another story).

I wished they’d score more, yes.

Now, let’s also look at Lithuania, a country that has been under Russian domination for years. It is probable that immigration has not been there what it is in more affluent European countries, and they see the world in very traditional way, divided along racial lines.

Hey, I bet you that if they had a Pele’ born there, they’d put him up front, on the kickoff line, with his cute Lithuanian jersey…

Good points Gian Luca

Posted from  United States

Speak for yourself Luis on being “fortunate” for having “diverse ethnic communities”. I suppose that you’re to busy in those “afro-pop” halls dancing your butt with your “ethnically diverse” friends to understand that many, if not most, of us don’t follow your multicultural logic *at all*. much to the contrary, the kind of reverse colonization that you seem to find oh-so-modern is ripping Europe apart, and areas of Lisbon are little more than African enclaves at this point – along with London, Paris, Madrid and others, the kind of place I suppose you fill right at home. France’s team is a joke, and Portugal and England’s team are on their way as well. In todays’ world there is more to being french or portuguese than being of an “ethnical origin”? You bet, but it’s a bloody good start! True Nationalities aren’t ID cards, and I can perfectly understand why the majority of native french people i have talked to don’t see themselves represented in their supposed “french” football team.

In any event, why is the banner “racist”? You multicuturalist fans should be delighted by it: Africa coloured like France, a huge melting pot to increase the great wealth that is multiculturalism. Or ware you assuming that they used Africa because they were targeting black players? I hope not, that’s racist as hell, to assume that Africa is the home of black people!

I am french, and can understand the comments of Alfonso. I ask all of you that seem to view as so naturale to have an all africane team for France to worry not, in time it will not be the France flag in africa but the African flag all over Europe. I don’t understand why this is always viewed as “racisme”… I would just like to see european countries, from Russia to Portugal, from Scandinavia to Greece, actually populated by européans… it’s not like I think any superiority or nonsense like that. The french team is simply alien to many of us…

Maybe the Lithuanians decided to spite
the French team.

Posted from  United States

I am from Lithuania, and I will try to tell you abuot situation… In this baltic respublic we have 85% lithuanian people, 10% russian, 10% polish and 5% other… we all are white. Our all national basketball team are white… so, this incident is not surprise… But we dont like football very much as basketball…

Well done by our Lithuanian brothers, this team of France is a shame for all europe, but thats hapenning in other white countries, like england, holland, Portugal. I hope this change.
Europe to the Europeans!

Posted from  Portugal