Football derbies and classics have been a part of my life since I was six. Whether it was AS’80 against FC Almere, Ajax against Feyenoord, Real Madrid against Barcelona or AC Milan against Internazionale; they were always competitions with an extra charge – but never more than a sporting motivation on the field. Outside of that, there was sometimes more tension than we experienced as players. Was it in my years as a youth soccer player because some parents saw those games as an opportunity to let their daily frustration out? I see the common thread with what is still happening at the highest football level in the Netherlands and in other countries where personal dissatisfaction prevails. Instead of enjoying a football game, it is abused for childish behavior and in some cases even violent acts.
NEC-Vitesse was no exception. Enough has been written and said about it, the events during and around that match were too sad for words. Just like, outside of football, the statement last week by Thierry Baudet who claimed that the risk of contracting AIDS for white straight men is negligible. I saw on TV how Humberto Tan rightly condemned that. Because if we watch and don’t take immediate and brutal action against this kind of behavior, we risk being thrown far back in time. Instead of an evolution in human behavior, we see a modern version of behavior from the time of the Romans. Beastly behavior. Just like the attack on representatives of Feyenoord’s opponent Union Berlin, Wednesday in the center of Rotterdam, and the day before the serious assault of a Belgian supporter of Manchester City, after the away game against Club Brugge, in a parking lot along the highway.
Much remains to be done to get rid of such excesses. And that will only succeed if everyone feels responsible for continuing the evolution in human behavior in a positive way: politicians, parents, mayors, teachers, police, trainers, club presidents and the leaders of the major football associations. They must all make it clear that prehistoric behavior is unacceptable. ‘Il pesce puzza dalla testa‘, they say in Italy – the fish stinks from the head. In the Netherlands, this is the case as long as there is still room for verbal and psychological violence in much-watched television programs and during public debates, and as long as there is still room for hatred and injustice.
It would be nice to see a change in that, starting with the recognition that a start must be made consciously and quickly on a process that leads to a more positive society. Influencing and stimulating young people positively. Set a good example when it comes down to it, show how you discuss with each other respectfully, which words you use and in what tone you do that. In any discussion, respect should be the starting point on both sides. Those are the values I have always lived by as an athlete. Have respect for yourself, for the opponent and for your fellow man, and then it does not matter where they come from.
Clarence Seedorf is a former football player. Now he is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and guest speaker.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC Handelsblad of 23 October 2021
A version of this article also appeared in NRC in the morning of October 23, 2021
#place #football #prehistoric #behaviour