BERLIN (AP) - Claims of racist abuse targeting players at the World Cup emerged hours after FIFA and local organizers got together Wednesday to promote the "Say No to Racism" campaign.
France coach Raymond Domenech said black players were taunted as they entered the stadium before their crucial second-round match against Spain at Hanover the previous night.
"When the bus arrives at the stadium, when you hear some fans making monkey chants ... I just turned my head away," Domenech said in Hameln. "I don't even give them the satisfaction of a look."
He declined to say more. Spanish fans had whistled and booed during the French national anthem, the Marseillaise, and several Les Bleus players said that had given them extra incentive to win.
France won 3-1 and plays Brazil in the quarterfinals.
Many reports before the France-Spain match focussed on a controversy in 2004, when Spain coach Luis Aragones was heard making a racist remark about France striker Thierry Henry during a training session. He was fined €3,000 (US$3,760) by Spain's soccer federation, which many felt was too lenient.
He later apologized, denying he was a racist.
Before the World Cup started, the FIFA Congress voted to give the sport's governing body the regulatory power to combat racism by fining, sanctioning or - in extreme cases - banning teams from national or international competition. That made clubs and national associations responsible for the actions of their players and fans.
"The first responsibilities lie with the national associations and if they are not doing what is expected of them then FIFA's executive committee must intervene," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Wednesday. "The power and the responsibility lies with FIFA. The suspension of a federation is the ultimate sanction available to the disciplinary committee.
"This is a fight against a devil which still exists unfortunately in our sport."
FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said later Wednesday he had not heard of Domenech's allegations. He said FIFA would investigate if a formal complaint was made.
After a spate of racist attacks in eastern Germany before the World Cup, domestic and international media focussed on xenophobia and right-wing extremists, forecasting clashes between German troublemakers and hooligans from abroad.
Security authorities have been high alert, but local organizers, police and government officials have said they've been caught unprepared for one thing: the camaraderie that the World Cup has stirred.
"Before World Cup started we received information from our security authorities that minorities planned to disturb World Cup by distributing racist and nationalist ideas," said Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany's Interior Minister. "They were not only not able not to do so, they even gave up."
Just before the opening match on June 9, police in Munich removed a World Cup banner with swastikas from a highway bridge. About the same time in Berlin, police raided the headquarters of a far-right political party, confiscating about 3,000 World Cup guides with racist overtones.
Apart from that, isolated outbreaks of violence have predominantly involved alcohol and traveling fans.
The only trouble with more than 11 million people watching matches on giant TVs at the 12 Fan Fests was overcrowding, with organizers trumpeting peaceful celebrations.
"That's how God must have imagined the party - people of different races unified. The color of their skin, their religion doesn't matter, they all celebrate together World Cup," said Franz Beckenbauer, head of the local organizing committee and one of Germany's greatest players. "This phenomenon is unique. Only soccer can do that."
Germany's results have exceeded expectations, with four wins from four starts getting them into a quarterfinal match against Argentina at Berlin on Friday. The successful run obviously has helped keep order.
"The whole country is in a party mood," said Michael Endler, the head of police headquarters for the World Cup. "This is not fertile soil for violence to spread."
Schaeuble said one soccer tournament would not rid Germany of all its problems, but the World Cup calm was helping.
And while Endler said experience showed the worst danger period was over with the first two rounds complete, German security authorities were not taking it easy.
"In Germany we have a sizable potential for violence that we have to be on guard for," Endler said.
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/5737948
Domenech is an asshole.
