Panorama's 'Racist' Polish Soccer Repudiated

[Teddy Bear]

An excellent examination on a recent Panorama programme by somebody with some knowledge on the subject.

(hat-tip David Vance)

Panorama In Poland & Ukraine – A Polish Perspective

With just a week to go before the start of the 2012 European Championships, the BBC stands accused of spreading alarmism over concerns regarding crowd trouble and racism at this summers tournament. Patryk Malinski felt that there was plenty left to be desired in this particulate programme.

Last Monday evening the BBC broadcast their programme Panorama: the Stadiums of Hate in which they made a huge step towards biased and sensationalist journalism rather than objective, factual reporting. The BBC journalist, Chris Rogers, spent two months in Poland and Ukraine, the host nations of this year’s European Championships, and his main aim was to prove that football fans in both countries are mindless racists, and together with his guest, Sol Campbell, they tried to convince the viewers that going to those countries to watch the competition may somehow be unsafe and that potential fans from other countries may even risk their lives should they go to Poland and Ukraine. The programme, however, was so full of inaccuracies and generalisations and, as a Pole, I feel the need to respond.

The half hour long programme starts with a map of Europe which wrongly shows Austria as the neighbours of Poland instead of the Czech Republic. The same map also has Yugoslavia on it. The same Yugoslavia that ceased to be a country at the beginning of the 90s. You may think that this is irrelevant to the content and the message of the video but journalists of a serious station, which BBC certainly is, making such glaring errors with simple things like showing an inaccurate map of Europe should be questioned over bigger things like implying that there is danger in going to Poland for the European Championship this year. Surely they should know better, but who knows, maybe the BBC journalist simply doesn’t care about the lesser nations somewhere in the wilderness.

Chris Rogers starts his journey in Lodz, the city which will not be hosting any games, but which has one of the most intense derbies in Polish football – Widzew and LKS. One extract shows LKS fans chanting and the chant is translated as “Who’s not jumping is a Jew” but in fact it goes “Who’s not jumping is from Widzew” which, in my opinion, is barely racist or anti-semitic. You can trust me on this one, as I mentioned at the beginning I am Polish and Polish is my first language. I listened carefully with headphones several times to that part of the video.

Next, Chris Rogers goes to Rzeszow, a small town in the south of the country. Like Lodz, Rzeszow doesn’t even host any Euro 2012 games and its football teams, Stal and Resovia, currently play… at the third level of Polish football pyramid. You probably wouldn’t go there unless you were a devoted groundhopper and have already visited all Polish stadiums in divisions one and two. Why, then, did Chris Rogers go there? Possibly because two years ago some Resovia fans showed a huge banner which said “Death to the crooked noses”, and it is not a secret that “the crooked noses” is an anti-semitic reference to Jews. The fans responsible were sentenced after a year, which for the BBC journalism is the proof of the hidden tolerance of racist attitude in the Polish society. If he cared to do a bit more research he would have found out that it is rather a proof of how ineffective the Polish judiciary system and the whole administration is and that unfortunately many cases take much longer to be resolved. Besides, John Terrys alleged racist abuse of Anton Ferdinand took place in October and his trial won’t start until after the European Championships – will BBC make a programme implying that because it’s taking so long, the British society is covertly racist?

The most ludicrous moment came, however, with the reference to Widzew and LKS fans, that he was shocked to hear that football fans refer to their rivals as Jews. Really? He didn’t have to bother to go all the way to Poland to hear that – it would be much simpler to go to The Emirates, the football ground of Arsenal FC for their game with their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

This article is not to say that racism or anti-semitism do not exist in Poland at all. They probably do within a minority of society and that minority will sadly but inevitably be reflected in a minority of football fans. It is a fact that some Widzew and LKS fans refer to each other as ‘Jews’ using it as a derogatory term and that Wisla fans use ‘Jews’ as a derogatory term for Cracovia. But as a balance it should be mentioned that Cracovia fans wear their ‘Jewish’ tag with pride, which I reckon is hardly anti-semitic, but this fact was not mentioned on the programme probably because it didn’t fit the Panorama assumption about Polish fans being racist and antisemitic. Nor were shown interviews that Rogers made with many black and foreign players that ply their trade in Polish clubs who said they do enjoy it here and haven’t had problems with racism. Somehow, the only Black player who makes it onto the programme Ugo Ukar, a former Widzew defender, who somehow says what Chris Rogers wanted to hear.

Finally, another problem I have with Panorama the Stadiums of Hate broadcast is that both Chris Rogers and Sol Campbell constantly refer to the hosts as “Poland and Ukraine” as if we were one country and one nation. What the programme shows in Poland is a few anti-semitic t-shirts in Krakow, and odd piece of graffitti on the wall in Lodz and a mistranslated chant. What it shows about Ukraine is violence towards an Asian group of spectators, monkey noises made towards black players and “sieg heil” salutes in the stands. I am not writing this to put the blame on our neighbouring nation, it’s just that I am not Ukrainan and have never even been there so I can’t speak for the ‘Ukrainian’ part of the programme. Neither Chris Rogers nor Sol Campbell cared to point out this difference in front of a camera and we are left feeling that both countries and societies have the same amount of racism in them.

As you know just after the European Championship, London will host the Olympic games. I wonder if Panorama will make a programme showing events that happened in London last summer: the violence, the smashing of shops’ windows, the looting, the vandalism, arson, chuck in some footage of the EDL manifestations – and warn families around the world to stay at home and watch the games on TV rather than risk their health and maybe even lives by coming to London f or the Olympic Games. I won’t be holding my breath, though.

[Teddy Bear]

Jonathan Ormstein is an American Jew who has lived in Krakow, Poland for the last 11 years. He is the director of the Jewish Community Centre there. He was interviewed by the BBC Panorama team who were doing a programme on racism in football there. Apparently he is furious at how the Panorama team have presented his comments, stating that he felt 'exploited' and that they 'completely disregarded anything positive said and aired only comments critical of Poland'. Something only likely to increase any anti-Semitism there, courtesy of the BBC.

I haven't seen the particular programme, available to be seen here for the next 12 months. Apparently there are 2 Israeli players on the team who Ormstein suggested the BBC might want to interview about their positive experiences, but according to him, it was rejected after being told 'it didn't fit their story'.

The Daily Mail has more on the story.

'Furious' Jewish leader blasts BBC for 'sensationalising' documentary about anti-Semitism in Poland

Jonathan Ornstein said he was 'exploited' during the interview for the Panorama programme
Claimed BBC 'completely disregarded anything positive said and aired only comments critical of Poland'

By Ryan Kisiel

A Jewish leader has furiously accused the BBC of sensationalising a documentary about anti-Semitism in Poland.

Jonathan Ornstein, director of Jewish Community Centre of Krakow, gave an interview for the Panorama programme entitled 'Stadiums of Hate' investigating racism at the upcoming Euro 2012 venues.

Footage from the documentary showing anti-Semitic chants and racist monkey noises aimed at Black football players prompted former England captain Sol Campbell to warn fans not to travel to Poland and Ukraine otherwise 'you could end up coming back in a coffin.'

The programme also showed south Asian fans being attacked at one game and crowds giving Nazi salutes at another.

But Mr Ornstein says he was 'exploited' during the hour-long interview with the corporation as it 'completely disregarded anything positive said and aired only comments critical of Poland'.

Mr Ornstein, an American-born Jew who has lived in Poland for 11 years, says the images used were also selective and other contributors misrepresented.

He also alleges his suggestion that the broadcasters interviewed two Israeli footballers, who play for local team Wisla Krakow, about their positive experiences were rejected after being told 'it didn't fit their story'.

'I am furious at the way the BBC has exploited me as a source', he said.
Mr Ornstein says the documentary misrepresented the views of two Israeli footballers who play for local team Wisla Krakow

Mr Ornstein says the documentary misrepresented the views of two Israeli footballers who play for local team Wisla Krakow

'The interview lasted approximately one hour during which I emphasized that the small number of football fans in Poland engaging in anti-Semitic and racist behaviour do not represent Polish society as a whole.

'The organization used me and others to manipulate the serious subject of anti-Semitism for its own sensationalist agenda; in doing so, the BBC has insulted all Polish people and done a disservice to the growing, thriving Jewish community of Poland.'

John Godson, one of Poland's two black MPs, has also criticised the documentary, which first aired on May 28 and is repeated on the BBC News Channel, in a Polish magazine.

He said: 'I believe that Poland is a tolerant country. Very much on this matter has changed and continues to change for the better.

'Poles have ever more opportunity to come into contact with foreigners - such as dark-skinned people - and that is better for them. Recall that in the [Polish General} Election 30,000 people voted for me. Do you need any other proof of the tolerance of Poles.'

It comes as the England squad yesterday arrived at their tournament training base in Krakow, south-east Poland, ahead of their opening match against France in Ukraine on Monday.

They are having to take a two-hour flight for the fixture in the city of Donetsk.

A BBC spokesman said: 'Panorama strongly refutes Mr Ornstein's allegation that it misrepresented his interview in the programme, Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate.

'It was made clear to Mr Ornstein that the interview was being carried out in the context of football related racism and anti-Semitism in Poland and his contribution was clearly placed in this context in the film. The programme stated in commentary that he believes that most Poles happily accept other faiths but that football hooligans are yet to catch up with wider Polish society.

'Both the programme's producer and reporter deny refusing the offer to interview two Israeli footballers player in Poland because it did not fit the story, in fact they would have jumped at the chance of interviewing them.’

[Teddy Bear]

England’s football fans have proven that they are far more racially enlightened than the BBC

By Brendan O'Neill

Another day, another newspaper article branding England’s football fans as “SICK”. What have they done this time? Beaten up little old ladies? Trashed a bar? Urinated on a war memorial? Nope. All they did was stage a protest against BBC Panorama’s hysterical depiction of Ukraine as a hotbed of racism and anti-Semitism, which they have discovered during their stay in that country to be untrue. And for this, for having the temerity to challenge claims made by the mighty, righteous Beeb, they have been described as “sick” and “shocking”.

The men, a group of fans from the Isle of Wight who are in Ukraine for Euro 2012, aimed their ire at Sol Campbell, the former England player. He was one of the talking heads on Panorama’s Ukraine-bashing, fact-lite show Stadiums of Hate, which was broadcast on BBC 1 on 28 May.

He said England fans should avoid going to Ukraine, because the people there are so crazy and racist “you could end up coming back in a coffin”. His words were like manna from heaven for Panorama’s producers and for the army of tabloid and broadsheet hacks who for the past two months have been depicting Ukraine as a racially unenlightened, semi-fascistic backwater.

But now, ordinary England fans, having discovered that Ukrainians are in fact normal, or even nice, and that Campbell’s and other people’s claims were “complete and utter rubbish”, have staged a protest to make their feelings known. Or a “stunt”, as the media is describing it, because of course gruff football fans are incapable of organising anything as sensible or inspiring as a political protest.

Yesterday, in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, the fans paraded through the streets with a coffin that they bought from the local funeral parlour and which they emblazoned with the words “You’re wrong Campbell” and “We’ll do what we want”. They did this, they said, to show that for all the anti-Ukrainian fearmongering in the British media over the past two months, “at no point have we felt afraid or threatened out here”.

The Mirror has described the whole thing as a “misguided undertaking”. Actually, it was a pretty stirring protest against the East-bashing prejudices of BBC bigwigs and other media outlets. We’re always being told that England football fans are dumb and racist and that they look upon foreigners as inferior. Yet here we have a situation where it was the respectable Beeb, echoed by broadsheets, which painted an entire nation “over there” as backward and prejudiced, while it has fallen to everyday fans to poke holes in this xenophobic mythmaking and to point out that there is actually nothing scary about modern Ukraine and its inhabitants.

England fans have proven themselves way more racially enlightened that the aloof suits in the current-affairs department of the BBC.
But fans can’t do right for doing wrong. When they engage in racist banter, as a few still do, they are branded “SICK”. And when they challenge sweeping prejudicial statements made by media outlets, they are branded “SICK”.