BENGALURU: LA LIGA is set to restart on Thursday with southern rivals Sevilla locking horns with Real Betis on Thursday.
This contest will the first in the league since it was suspended due to coronavirus pandemic in March. The return coincides at a time when there have been huge protests against racism in various parts of
the world after the death of a black American George Floyd.
Now, athletes world over have been debating about racism in sport, which is deeply rooted too.
Former Mali and Sevilla player Frederic Kanoute, who is one of the La Liga ambassadors, spoke about the issue. The 2007 African Footballer of the Year also discussed how players' fitness will be tested in the days to come.
Excerpts...
Your take on racism in football...
When I am asked about racism in general, it is much more than football. If we think that we are going to tackle racism because of a few complaints in football, we are wrong. It is present throughout society.
There is a need to take a good look at the mirror and then tackle all kinds of racism and discrimination. It will take much more than a few protests and few hashtags and so on.
It is a long process and we can see that it is ingrained in the minds of a lot of people. The fight is not over and I will encourage and support La Liga to tackle all forms of racism and discrimination, but definitely it is never enough.
There is a lot of racism, overt and covert racism. The overt racism maybe not there so much anymore but covert racism is the big part of the iceberg.
Hopefully, it is a turning point right now with what happened in the USA and that everybody is going to wake up. I pray that it's a wake-up call for everybody.
In 2014, you had said Spanish football is not doing enough to tackle racism...
When we say, we have done enough, it is dangerous. Because we can never do enough when it comes to racism. We have to tackle it as it is throughout society. I would say that football is just the tip of the iceberg, but we have to go deeper than that. I am not going to single out any league or whatever, it is throughout the world and society.
What is the best step to tackle it?
The sanctions have to be longer for the clubs that are supporting this kind of behaviour or protecting the fans when they are acting in this wrong way.
Clubs that are not taking any steps to tackle their own fans, they should be punished. I think, at the personal level, any individual who is using racial slurs or abuses on anyone should be banned. I'm not in a position to say how long or like that, as I have not studied this enough. If we had taken more severe steps and measures a long time ago, I do not think we would not be in this situation
anymore.
That is why it will take more time than the small complaints or the hashtags to tackle this problem.
With the league returning with a tight schedule, what about injury risks to players?
The risk of injury will always be there as the players are coming after almost three months. The physios, the medical team must have worked hard with their players to tackle this situation. But, teams will also do more rotation with players.
Playing for at least two times a week, you will have to make some rotation. If the teams manage this well, they might not have many injuries.
Also, it would mean a massive fitness test for players…
It is a challenge. As a former player, I know that when you come back from a long break, the preparation takes two months or so to be on top shape to give your top-level performance. Now, they (players) had less time to prepare in a group.
Hopefully, a lot of these players would have worked on their fitness at home also.
What is your view on the five substitutes rule?
Teams may need more players for rotation and they would want to avoid injuries. It is a win-win situation for everyone.
For the coaches, it can be a reorganisation of everything knowing that you can make five substitutions, leading to strategies and tactics.
Who should be crowned champions if La Liga stops again?
All the health protocols are going to be taken seriously. A lot of tests are going to be conducted every week, I believe. I hope it will not have to stop again, but if it has to stop, I do not know.
Frederic Kanoute interacted with the Indian media in an online press conference on Wednesday