Zenit St. Petersburg Fan Group Issued Manifesto Calling For Club Not to Sign Black or Gay Players

All, Soccer Ty Duffy December 17th. 2012, 11:31am

Landscrona, the largest fan group of Russian Premier League side Zenit St. Petersburg issued a manifesto calling for the club not to sign black or homosexual players. The fans claim not to be racists. They would just prefer Zenit sign players as much like themselves as possible.

“We’re not racists but we see the absence of black players at Zenit as an important tradition,” Zenit fan club Landscrona said in a letter, called the “Selection 12 manifesto”, posted on its website on Monday.
“It would allow Zenit to maintain the national identity of the club, which is the symbol of St Petersburg.”

The manifesto comes amidst recent, controversial additions to the squad. Zenit spent around $80 million to bring in Brazilian striker Hulk and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel (father from Martinique). This alienated some of the Russian players, most notably Igor Denisov, captain of the Russian national team, who was demoted to the reserves after refusing to play until his contract was renegotiated.

[Photo via Getty]

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23 Responses to “Zenit St. Petersburg Fan Group Issued Manifesto Calling For Club Not to Sign Black or Gay Players”

1
rittyrich Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 11:35 AM
But how many people were in the stands?
2
spencer096 Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 11:36 AM
/white player
da.
/white player
da.
/european player
da.
/black player
nyet.
/how i imagine this went
3
Der Kaiser Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 11:40 AM
Fans of a sport where rolling on the ground after the slightest bit of contact is considered a virtue shouldn’t really be the defender of manly men.
4
PeerLessPrices Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 11:44 AM
Fans of a sport where rolling on the ground after the slightest bit of contact is considered a virtue shouldn’t really be the defender of manly men.
Yea, leave that to the women, amirite Tubes?
/tubes’d
5
dikembemutomballs Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 11:47 AM
I could somewhat argue it as trying to protect your domestic league from being so overrun with foreign talent the local kids stop playing (like Americans and baseball) but throwing in the blanket statement about ‘gays’ and ‘blacks’ is moronic…Why mention blacks and gays at all unless you’re racist homophobes?
6
sctrojans Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 11:50 AM
I could somewhat argue it as trying to protect your domestic league from being so overrun with foreign talent the local kids stop playing (like Americans and baseball) but throwing in the blanket statement about ‘gays’ and ‘blacks’ is moronic…Why mention blacks and gays at all unless you’re racist homophobes?
Shit like this happens all the time in soccer. There is a club in the Israeli top flight that won’t sign an Arab. I have no problem with it. It’s your club, sign who you want
7
BFFredo Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 11:54 AM
If they want to send Hulk and Witsel to Arsenal, I’ll be fine with it.
And while there’s clubs who buy only specific players — Athletic Bilbao only fields Basque players — this is racist as hell. But UEFA won’t do shit about it nor will the Russian FA.
8
dikembemutomballs Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 12:12 PM
Athletic Bilbao only fields Basque players
Hasn’t Bilbao even gotten to the “World Cup” point? IE if your parents were born in the area and moved prior to your birth you, as the player, are still eligible to play for Bilbao? Thought I remembered catching that during a match last year, commentators essentially giving Bilbao shit for having this rule but turning a blind eye towards it if it meant getting talent on the field.
9
Nada Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 12:13 PM
John Terry would feel right at home on this club, amirite?
10
Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 12:20 PM
Hasn’t Bilbao even gotten to the “World Cup” point? IE if your parents were born in the area and moved prior to your birth you, as the player, are still eligible to play for Bilbao? Thought I remembered catching that during a match last year, commentators essentially giving Bilbao shit for having this rule but turning a blind eye towards it if it meant getting talent on the field.
Bilbao have scaled back their Cantera policy a fair amount, yeah. Sociedad got rid of theirs altogether in ’89 so they could sign John Aldrige.
11
got_em_looking Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 12:21 PM
I don’t get this. Hulk is latino not black, Axel Witsel’s mom is a white Belgian. Neither of these players are down for the cause.
/Rob Parker’d
12
Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 12:28 PM
Hulk is latino not black
I can understand the fans hating Hulk. He was a massive financial investment in fee and wages, and has underperformed, and is already demanding to leave the club. But basing things on the foreign nature of the players is really fucking stupid. The only way they’re going to attract top talent is to pay them insane amounts of money, and the Russian teams want to be global brands especially with 2018 approaching so it makes sense that they and Anzhi are doing this.
I mean for god’s sake Spartak paid ten millions pounds for Aiden McGeady, that’s not a league built on shrewd financial moves.
13
sctrojans Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 12:33 PM
I can understand the fans hating Hulk. He‘s Brazlian
Fixed, for concision
14
Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 12:48 PM
Holy shit Juninho signing in MLS is a massive shock, not even as a designated player. Easily the most gifted player the league has ever seen.
15
sctrojans Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 12:56 PM
Easily the most gifted player the league has ever seen.
Beckham and Henry would likely not agree
16
Mugatu Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 1:02 PM
This is why I love America. Do you think anyone really hates the San Antonio Spurs because they have multiple foreigners on their squad from Duncan, to Parker, to Ginobilit? It’s not even a consideration. I hate them because they’re whiny assholes, no more, no less
17
Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 1:04 PM
Outside of long crossing, really not an aspect of the game that Beckham is superior to Juninho in. Henry is a better all around player but Juninho is one of the greatest ever, if not THE greatest, dead ball strikers of all time. There is nobody I would rather have with the ball at his feet.
18
Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 1:06 PM
This is why I love America. Do you think anyone really hates the San Antonio Spurs because they have multiple foreigners on their squad from Duncan, to Parker, to Ginobilit?
No but there are a shitload of white people who hate the NBA because it’s dominated by black players and black culture.
19
sctrojans Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 1:12 PM
Beck’s is up there on the dead ball. I never understood the “all Beckham has is a great right foot” argument. That’s probably the single most important thing a footballer can have
20
Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 1:20 PM
Beckham is up there with Mihajlovic and Zico, but Juninho is really in a league of his own. He scored 100 goals for Lyon, 44 of them from direct free kicks. Ridiculous.
21
Ty Duffy Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 2:33 PM
Juninho is incredible with the dead ball. Not sure I would term him “easily” superior to Beckham in that regard though.
22
Mugatu Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 2:51 PM
Don’t catch Vasco Da Gama much so I don’t know if Juninho’s dead ball skills have deteriorated. As I said on twitter I think technical prowess includes not just ball striking, but close control, first touch, receiving the ball w/ precision and dribbling ability. Henry dominates Juninho when it comes to those factors. Which is why he could come back to Arsenal and be effective (please come back) as a striker even though he doesn’t have the pace he once had ala Pippo Inzaghi. He reads that last line of defense well and has a “footballing” mentality that would bode well for him
23
sctrojans Says:
December 17th, 2012 at 2:53 PM
Pippo Inzaghi
How dare you neglect Alex Del Piero!