There are not many clubs that have the talent to ruin self-earned holidays at such a speed as SK Rapid.
Finally, an SCR women’s team played a football game for the first time, and shortly afterwards the men won a derby in Hütteldorf again after a decade of waiting.
Nobody is interested anymore because Mr. Steffen Hofmann, Stefan Kulovits, Guido Burgstaller, Marco Grüll, Thorsten Schick, Maximilian Hofmann and Niklas Hedl made statements and/or chants during the celebrations after the derby that are not acceptable.
Seven men, from the managing director to a member of the coaching team to regular and substitute players, a nice cross-section of the professional sporting department. No, this is not an isolated case.
Real regret?
The obligatory statement followed quite promptly. The SCR’s press department is practiced at this; statements after derbies are necessary with a worrying regularity. Once again, SK Rapid’s mission statement was caricatured from within its own ranks. “Respect and appreciation for diversity are the cornerstones of our club,” it reads. These foundations stand on feet of clay.
It is difficult to perceive expressions of regret as sincere when, for example, several players publish identical statements on their social media profiles. As is often the case, you can’t shake the feeling that your anger at being caught is greater than your own behavior.
The Bundesliga must remain credible
What should happen now? The Bundesliga has filed a complaint with the Senate, against Rapid and also against the seven above-mentioned companies as individuals. The catalog of penalties provides for a wide range of options. Everything is possible, from conditional bans and minor fines to long functional bans and point deductions.
In order to remain socio-politically credible in 2024, it will not be enough to simply pat the wrongdoers on the fingers. Social change can only be promoted by clearly identifying and punishing misconduct as such.
Regrettable means of provocation
And yes, social change does exist. Also in the stands in Austria’s stadiums. Anyone who experienced the 1980s and 1990s cannot help but admit that a lot has changed for the better, especially when it comes to racism. When it comes to homophobia and sexism, developments are lagging a little behind.
It is in the nature of subcultures to offend public perception in order to differentiate themselves and create freedom. It is regrettable that at least parts of a subculture as creative as that of the Ultras have to resort to homophobic and sexist stylistic devices in their desire for provocation.
The fact that employees of a club allow themselves to be taken advantage of – hopefully not out of honest conviction, but out of pure thoughtlessness – is even more so.
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2024-02-29 02:38:52
#Rapid #derailments #tapping #fingers #isnt
