Milan Baros Suspended for the Rest of the Season
By: Inara | May 3rd, 2007The LFP’s Disciplinary Committee met today to examine whether Milan Baros was racist when he pinched his nose in a “you smell” gesture” towards Rennes player Stephane Mbia. The committee ruled that Baros was guilty of a gesture that some found “unqualifiable, and others, inadmissible.” He will be suspended for the rest of the season.
For those of you needing a recap on the situation, go here.
To summarize, the committee was convinced that Baros’s gesture was not racist. Furthermore, they were swayed by the fact that Baros has a long history of playing with Black players, and there has never even been a whisper of a complaint against him. MBia was also present to offer testimony.
So why was Baros suspended if he is in fact innocent of being racist?
Baros and MBia
Committee Chairman Jacques Riolacci said that if Baros had been found racist or xenophobic, he would have been very severely sanctioned, with a longer suspension, a fine, and a possible point deduction for Lyon as well. But because his gesture was simply in bad taste and a bad example, he’s only being suspended three matches - effectively, for the rest of Lyon’s season. Since the ruling doesn’t take into effect until next Monday, Baros can still participate in this weekend’s match against PSG. Lyon can appeal the verdict, though I don’t know how successful they would be.
I don’t know how I feel about this. On one hand, I’m happy to see that Baros was found innocent. But I feel like the suspension is completely unnecessary and that the LFP is using Baros to set an example. They are, after all, in an awkward position. If they don’t sanction Baros, they would get accused of siding with a white player, but if they do sanction him, they would be punishing an innocent man.
It’s an ugly political situation, so the LFP copped out and opted for a “light” sentence that would appease the anti-Baros bandwagon while still sort of letting Baros off the hook. Except not really.
Missing three matches is a lot for any player and would have been a good opportunity for Baros to add to his goal tally. Plus, it’s the end of the season for Lyon, so this is when the players enjoy themselves the most. But now Baros can’t participate for the end of his first ever title winning season.
I am not happy with the LFP’s verdict.
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Comments
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i think is crap, absolute bullocks and the frenchies copped out and didnt take a stand against the use of “racism” to bait players. Racism claims have been popping up all over the place in the past few seasons, and alot of theclaims have gone unproven. It disgusts me that racism is used in such a manner.
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United States
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Ugh. I’m not happy with it either, but it could have been worse, at least they cleared him of “racism.” But I still think it’s a bit of a draconian punishment for a simple childish lapse in judgement….
Does anyone know what the take on this whole affair has been in the Czech Republic? I can’t speak Czech well enough to get much from their newspapers beyond a few top headlines–anyone in the know? I’m curious what his countrymen thought of this whole mess.
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This is beyond stupid. They can’t take on the real racism that exists in the system, so they sanciton Baros for a momentary lapse in judgment despite recognizing that he’s NOT racist. It makes no sense.
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Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s over. According to L’EquipeAn anti-racist group in France, MRAP, will be looking at what legal options they have to pursue this further with Baros.
Houllier said in the same article that if Baros had done that to a white guy, he would not be missing three matches, while Aulas in another interview said that while Baros’s gesture was stupid, it wasn’t racist and therefore didn’t deserve the suspension.
He also said that this sanction was not directed at Baros specifically but at the club. He’s a conspiracy theorist, as we all know.
No word yet on whether Lyon will appeal.
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WHAT?! They’re still after his head?! What is the point? Why is this anti-racist group trying to “pursue it further”? What does that mean anyway, are they going to put him on a real trial?
I’m almost beginning to wonder if there’s a political conspiracy behind this. I mean–obviously France has had some high-profile problems with racism in the last few years, especially how it was played up in the American press. Maybe with the election coming up and a new French leadership in the making, somebody wanted to make a big stink about racism in French society and then make a big, tabloid-filling “crackdown” on it, meaning taking a famous footballer, waiting for him to lose his temper around a black guy, and then turn him into the ceremonial sacrificial animal. It wouldn’t require (heaven forbid) actually addressing any of the real issues, it would be easy and fun! The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is whose hands it would play into better, Sarko or Sego.
(Disclaimer: no, I’m not seriously believing those sorts of conspiracy theories, it was a bit of sarcastic satire. Could still be a grain of truth to it though?!)
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MRAP claim they represent black french people but they just keep on being a silly extremist fake association. I don’t know how come they have so much power (not too much anyway, thank god). Some “famous people” are part of it, such as Dieudonné who’s notoriously known for harsh words against judes (and he’s been condemned for this - that was NOT a mistake).
Mara - forget your theories. Politics don’t care about “l’affaire Baros” and they are right to do so.
“I mean–obviously France has had some high-profile problems with racism in the last few years, especially how it was played up in the American press.”
Careful enough
But it has nothing to do with racism, it’s got something to do with integration.Posted from
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I heard that many vehement critics have been said towards Baros’ gesture in Czech Republic.
I also heard that M’Bia asked for Baros’ shirt after the match. This shows how offended he must have been…
(sorry for double posting)
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I heard about the shirt swapping too. Baros didn’t give it to him though - he had already promised it to his old teammate, Bruno Cheyrou.
I get the feeling that even MBia wants this to die down. I think that after the Rennes match, it didn’t occur to him that Baros was being racist. Only after the media made such a big deal about it did he lodge a complaint.
MBia is just as much a tool as Baros in this situation.
It’s strange because while some people still want Baros’s head, others don’t think he deserved the suspension. Even Paul Le Guen, current PSG coach, criticized the LFP, saying that in trying not to annoy anyone, they tried to take the middle ground.
Unfortunately, this suspension makes Baros look guilty, no matter how many times the LFP insists he wasn’t racist.
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Thomas, I said it was sarcastic satire.
I was only referring mainly to those riots in the poor neighborhoods a few years back, and mostly how they were played up in the American press as a big racial thing. (I really DON’T think France is the most racist country in Europe, I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote that.) I had to at least wonder if it had a political aspect though, especially since I’ve heard that it was being talked about in the newspapers so much it was second only to the elections.Do you know if the Czechs thought the gesture was racist, or were they condemning it just because it was stupid and childish?
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According to L’Equipe, the czech press was more than vehement. Obviously they considered this as a racist gesture and recalled it would have got him a suspension of several weeks if it had occured in the czech championship.
http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/20070421_111109Dev.html
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I can’t read French, but I’ll take your word for it. Ouch!
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Yeah, I read that the Czech press came down pretty hard on him. Maybe for setting a bad example?
Anyway, at today’s game, the home crowd (PSG) booed Baros the entire time he was on the field. You could definitely tell he was depressed by the way he was playing. And then he tackled a black PSG player, got yellow carded, and got booed even more. I think he was relieved to be substituted.
Poor guy. Not quite the end of season party he was hoping for.
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Sh*t. I can’t come up with anything more eloquent than that. Just….sh*t. That must have felt especially terrible to have his own countrymen running him through the shredder like that–do you suppose they’ll boo him when he plays for the national side now?! That would do him in! Playing for the Czechs is all he’s got left!
This is really sad. Yes it’s still stupid, unfair, scapegoat-copout-media circus and all the other stuff, but mainly it’s just sad now. I just want to go give Milan a big hug and tell him everything will be OK.
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[...] bench this season either. But on the other hand, Baros hasn’t exactly endeared himself to the French public or the traffic [...]
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[...] the bench this season either. But on the other hand, Baros hasn’t exactly endeared himself to the French public or the traffic [...]
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