I ran across an old article a few days ago about the 2006 French football team. The article provides a good overview of the controversies over multiculturalism of the French team and provides a number of perspectives from French citizens and players. It also dives into the stereotypical “black, blanc, beur” characterization of the team, and Finkielkraut’s controversial quote saying that the team was, in fact, “black, black, black.” A good read to get a background on the more modern issues of minorities in soccer.
In addition to the Washington Post article, there is a link to a Time article below showing the effects of xenophobia and racism on football at the national and club levels. Though it was focused on the actions of Barca player Samuel Eto’o, it touches on the international nature of the problem. Indeed, prior to Fifa’s work with the local football federations, the ape chants and other antics were worse than they are currently.
