Liverpool in new racism shock
After the Luis Suarez debacle, you would imagine that Liverpool would be keeping a close eye on their players to ensure that they all behave especially sensitive to issues of race in future. In which case there is a bit of a problem here. Either they’re not doing that, or they’re doing it really badly.
Pepe Reina has starred in an, at best, terribly conceived advert for an insurance company that appears to paint black people as animalistic simpletons. There’s little reason behind this, and surely Pepe Reina, resident for years in England, might grasp that the subtext, albeit almost imperceptible, it is that subtle, might not be the greatest thing. Indeed, it might just be staggeringly racist.
You can see what Operation Black Vote think about this on their site here, but here’s a choice few words from their director Simon Wooley:
“I’m shocked on so many levels. Firstly, how would the Spanish feel if the English stereotyped Spanish people as backward, stupid, and animalistic homosexuals? Secondly, what does this say about Pepe Reina? The Liverpool goalkeeper has lived and worked in the UK for nearly a decade, does he think it’s ok characterise Black people this way? Does he think his Black team mates will laugh at his joke?”
What on Earth are Liverpool playing at?
