Will Racism Bring Violence to World Cup?
Soccer fans mocked with monkey noises and spit on Nigerian forward Adebowale Ogungbure as he left a soccer field in Germany in late March. It sounds like a story from another decade, but this type of violent racism might just destroy this year's World Cup. The NYT offers a must-read piece about the recent surge in racist sentiment among European soccer fans.Soccer fans mocked with monkey noises and spit on Nigerian forward Adebowale Ogungbure as he left a soccer field in Germany in late March. It sounds like a story from another decade, but this type of violent racism might just destroy this year’s World Cup. The NYT offers a must-read piece about the recent surge in racist sentiment among European soccer fans.
TRUTHDIG’S JOURNALISM REMAINS CLEARNYT: Surge in Racist Mood Raises Concerns on Eve of World Cup
By JERE LONGMAN
HAMBURG, Germany, June 3 — As he left the soccer field after a club match in the eastern German city of Halle on March 25, the Nigerian forward Adebowale Ogungbure was spit upon, jeered with racial remarks and mocked with monkey noises. In rebuke, he placed two fingers under his nose to simulate a Hitler mustache and thrust his arm in a Nazi salute.
In April, the American defender Oguchi Onyewu, playing for his professional club team in Belgium, dismissively gestured toward fans who were making simian chants at him. Then, as he went to throw the ball inbounds, Onyewu said a fan of the opposing team reached over a barrier and punched him in the face.
The storytellers of chaos tried to manipulate the political and media narrative in 2025, but independent journalism exposed what they tried to hide. When you read Truthdig, you see through the illusion.
Support Independent Journalism.
Editorial Cartoons
TD Column
There is no longer any room for debate.
Traditional politics and a media-driven culture don't offer the language for grasping the crisis that created Trump.
Beyond the big headlines, he is acting on policies that hurt the poor, immigrants, his political enemies and human existence itself.
They’ll claim they’re concerned about uniting the party, but many are afraid they’ll be out of a job if the Vermont senator prevails.
The MSNBC host faces calls to issue a public apology after describing the Vermont senator's online backers as a "brownshirt brigade."
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.