The media is full of vain, self-important, lying, and moralising hypocrites, who do a huge amount of damage in many important areas of life - like war, death, and the environment.
Football isn't one those areas. (Although I suspect one of its functions as social control may be to innure people to injustice, but that's another story.) And of course, football journos bring a certain aggregate stupidity to the mix. Let's be honest here, it's not a usual career track for big brains.
Nonetheless, their behaviour is characteristic of the media in general, so a couple of comments are probably in order in the wake of yesterday's game, which has certainly generated a fair amount of heat (a proliferation of "hated Chelsea" and "Chelsea cheat" headlines). All of it guided by the prejudices and enthusiasms of the sports journalists.
First, on the dignity of managers - there wasn't a great deal of edification in watching Robson scream "fucking faggot" over and over again (six times?). Completely ignored in the media, either because of embarrassment or perhaps bias - and after all, the BBC's Match of the Day didn't even mention the Kamara dive in the box. I've found one reference, and that on a forum. None in the media at all, who prefer to bash the Chelsea manager's leadership.
Sky's Goals on Sunday, which I just watched, actually cut the sequence when the teams emerge at half time twice, passing it off as a coherent tape, so that you don't get a chance read Robson's lips. Chris Kamara protecting his mate, I guess. At least MOTD showed some of it.
Of course, hardly surprising that English football's full of blokes, mates and homophobes covering each other's asses (that's a very intentional pun). And this at a time when they all feign deep respect and outrage on the subject of racist abuse (well, when it happens in Europe, anyway).
I also just watched the beginning of Live Ford Super Sunday - and watched another group of football types refusing to notice Robson's abusive and almost certainly illegal behaviour. Yet more blokish, matey ass-covering from Andy Gray and company. Big surprise, after all, these guys learn about alpha males and subservience in the changing room, and it never leaves them. You can see it in Gray's relations with guys like Live Ford Super Sunday host Richard Keys.
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Article comments
1 - Richard
You were right we went down, but hwo you can defend Drogba for diving is quite simply beyond me. You seem very blinkered in your view of Chelsea, and let me guess, you supported them before Abramovich, before Bates, you used to go when you were a lad blah blah blah even if it is true no-ones going to believe it. Every male who goes up the bridge now has to be sucking some sort of corporate fallace, thats how you get tickets. For the record, Robson was sayin eff off. Numbnuts