I managed to find a stream to watch the Europa League 3rd qualifying round first leg tie between Liverpool and Rabotnicki – some rubbish pseudo-Macedonian team – and noticed the extremely raucous heckling and jeering Liverpool’s Greek international centre back, Sotiris Kyrgiakos, was subjected to by the pseudo-Macedonian home crowd every time he touched the ball or was involved in play. The video clip above gives a taste of the dog’s abuse Kyrgiakos suffered throughout the match. In this instance, he is jeered after one of the pseudo-Macedonian players whacks him in the face at a corner kick and Sotiris has to go off for treatment.
Clearly, the Fyromians do not like Greeks, which I don’t understand, since what have we ever done to them, apart from civilise them? Ingrates. Anyway, it did strike me, given UEFA’s tedious anti-racism campaign, that if this sort of jeering had been aimed at a black player, there would be outrage and the Fyromian team would be fined, banned and all the rest. Never mind. Kyrgiakos didn’t let it affect his game – which was probably one of the easiest he’s ever played, given the standard of the opposition – and Liverpool comfortably won 2-0, making their qualification for the Europa League group stages a virtual formality.
UPDATE: And I’ve just noticed that the match was played at the so-called Phillip II Arena, in Skopje. Phillip II!? Can you believe these idiots? Like always, I don’t know whether to laugh at the Freedonians or get wound up by them.
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