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Cyrus Christie - The Times

Started by Weybridge White, October 06, 2019, 08:09:17 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

MJG

Quote from: filham on October 07, 2019, 10:59:11 AM

It really needs to be made absolutely clear that there is not any element of racism in this matter,
But its not clear and there is an element i'm sorry to say. It may be small but you can't just sweep it away by saying there is not any.
Just the views of a long term fan

FFC1987

Quote from: MJG on October 07, 2019, 12:03:44 PM
Quote from: filham on October 07, 2019, 10:59:11 AM

It really needs to be made absolutely clear that there is not any element of racism in this matter,
But its not clear and there is an element i'm sorry to say. It may be small but you can't just sweep it away by saying there is not any.

I mean, he's reportedly suffered from racist abuse so regardless of whether the majority criticise him for his lack of footballing skills, there are definitely some who do as sad as that is.

Fulham 442

I thought he said he'd suffered racist abuse playing for Ireland not when playing for us? I've certainly never heard any. As has been posted if hes not being selected,  even for the bench, then he should speak to SP, unless his head isn't right and he needs time out? I'm sure he's a decent bloke and I've heard he does a lot of charity work, which is great. However I don't think he's a good enough player, even at this level so probably best for all if he moves on in January.


Statto

#43
Quote from: FFC1987 on October 07, 2019, 12:11:20 PM
Quote from: MJG on October 07, 2019, 12:03:44 PM
Quote from: filham on October 07, 2019, 10:59:11 AM

It really needs to be made absolutely clear that there is not any element of racism in this matter,
But its not clear and there is an element i'm sorry to say. It may be small but you can't just sweep it away by saying there is not any.

I mean, he's reportedly suffered from racist abuse so regardless of whether the majority criticise him for his lack of footballing skills, there are definitely some who do as sad as that is.

Where are these reports - or is it just in this article?

Can't someone copy paste the article

Would be interested to hear whether he's explicitly claiming to have been racially abused by Fulham fans
Also keen to read the Parker/selection comments in full

FFC1987

Quote from: Statto on October 07, 2019, 12:36:06 PM
Quote from: FFC1987 on October 07, 2019, 12:11:20 PM
Quote from: MJG on October 07, 2019, 12:03:44 PM
Quote from: filham on October 07, 2019, 10:59:11 AM

It really needs to be made absolutely clear that there is not any element of racism in this matter,
But its not clear and there is an element i'm sorry to say. It may be small but you can't just sweep it away by saying there is not any.

I mean, he's reportedly suffered from racist abuse so regardless of whether the majority criticise him for his lack of footballing skills, there are definitely some who do as sad as that is.

Where are these reports - or is it just in this article?

Can't someone copy paste the article

Would be interested to hear whether he's explicitly claiming to have been racially abused by Fulham fans
Also keen to read the Parker/selection comments in full

I recall him mentioning on his twitter that he had received some during EPL time. In the age of social media, I have absolutely no doubt that hes been on the receiving end of racist abuse.

Texas White

Quote from: hovewhite on October 06, 2019, 09:31:26 PM
Some of the comments on this board to this topic says it all,this board used to be so much nicer.

It's the affect of online media.. keyboard jobs worth's go to the games and act brave. No player deserves to be heckled. Never going to improve team morale. Just stupid.


Statto

#46
Quote from: FFC1987 on October 07, 2019, 12:41:08 PM
Quote from: Statto on October 07, 2019, 12:36:06 PM
Quote from: FFC1987 on October 07, 2019, 12:11:20 PM
Quote from: MJG on October 07, 2019, 12:03:44 PM
Quote from: filham on October 07, 2019, 10:59:11 AM

It really needs to be made absolutely clear that there is not any element of racism in this matter,
But its not clear and there is an element i'm sorry to say. It may be small but you can't just sweep it away by saying there is not any.

I mean, he's reportedly suffered from racist abuse so regardless of whether the majority criticise him for his lack of footballing skills, there are definitely some who do as sad as that is.

Where are these reports - or is it just in this article?

Can't someone copy paste the article

Would be interested to hear whether he's explicitly claiming to have been racially abused by Fulham fans
Also keen to read the Parker/selection comments in full

I recall him mentioning on his twitter that he had received some during EPL time. In the age of social media, I have absolutely no doubt that hes been on the receiving end of racist abuse.
Just gave his Twitter a scan going back to August 2018.
Found a screenshot he posted about "black Irish poepel" (sic) from an account which seems to have been deleted (olliee.brownn) and a tweet from someone who seems to be an Irish journalist/activist (Gemma O'Doherty) that also appears to have been deleted since. No indication at all that either is related to FFC.

Carborundum

Football has changed since I was a kid.  Back then professional teams had small squads, which worked because there was only one sub and injured players were given a needle and sent out to do even more damage to themselves.  Many are now in possession of new joints or are nearly crippled.  Money in the game means larger squads are possible, but still the basic rule that only eleven can take the pitch at any given time applies.

So fundamentally, we now have a position where every well financed team will have their Cyrus Christie's. They are well rewarded for their limited involvement.  Naturally they want to play, but someone has to miss out.  Most of us will have experienced the message every footballer gets at one stage or another, "Sorry, but we think someone else is better".  How it shapes our lives is a matter for us and our character.

One thing I'd say about Cyrus Christie.  There was one night he gave one of the finest full back displays I have seen at the Cottage or anywhere else.  Jaw droppingly good.  He was wearing a Middlesborough shirt.  So we signed him.  We haven't seen anything like that since.  I would have given a lot to have just once played as well as he did that night. 


FFC1987

He might of deleted it as well then, I don't know. I just recall seeing him discuss that he's been on the back end of abuse from some of our lot. it might not be true, but I'd find it hard to believe any footballer hasn't received abuse online to be honest.


KeenCottager

'Racism makes you lose love of the game - a guy did a petition to have me lynched'


Growing up, Cyrus Christie saw friends stabbed in racist attacks and he still suffers sickening abuse. He tells Henry Winter why football simply must do more

Cyrus Christie, the Fulham and Ireland full back, will never forget the times visiting his beloved uncle, the famous middleweight boxer Errol Christie at St Christopher's hospice in south London, as cancer took its toll. Errol was an inspiration to him, a man who fought bravely in the ring but also outside, standing up to racism, helping to steer young Coventry lads away from the temptations of gangland culture. Christie hated seeing this great man and sportsman so diminished at only 53. "He had over 100 tumours," Christie recalls. "When I hugged him, I could feel them pushing out of his skin. One of them was the size of a tennis ball. My dad's not emotional at all, probably the toughest guy I've ever met, but he broke down. "We played Austria the day Errol died [June 11, 2017]. While I was asleep in the afternoon before the match, I thought someone phoned me, telling me Errol had died. I woke up, but nothing on my phone. We played the game and you know this whole thing of when Aaron Ramsey scores, someone famous dies, well one of the guys on the back of the bus after the game, says, 'F***ing hell, Aaron Ramsey's scored. Who's died?' My phone rang after he finished that sentence. It was my dad. 'Errol's died,' he said and put the phone down because he was crying." Christie shakes his head. "Errol's one of the nicest guys you would ever meet." He would be proud of his nephew. Christie is well known within the game as a deep thinker, and as a professional with a social conscience. He once contacted the ticket department of his former club, Coventry City, to cover the cost of a fan's season ticket, paid for medical equipment needed by the daughter of a member of staff at Derby County, where he once played, and helps out at Brixton Soup Kitchen in south London. He also works with his former Coventry team-mate and good friend, Callum Wilson, on schemes in the city to "get kids on the right track, so that they go on and have a successful life, so they don't feel they have to go into a gang culture". Just as Errol did. As he sits in the neat Putney offices of his agent, Arete, and reflects on his career to date, Christie talks of taking inspiration from Errol, and especially the boxer's mantra of "no retreat, no surrender". "The six brothers were the only black family in that area of Coventry at the time," Christie, 27, begins. "It was very racist. They would fight with their neighbours. They had a fight every day on the way back from school, even to school, with people they used to call 'the Nazis', 'the Boot boys', because they wore Doc Martens. "The secondary school I went to was bang in the middle of two — at the time — BNP areas. We were involved in a lot of race wars at school, grown men jumping in from outside to fight all the black and Asian lads. I remember the white lads charging through, going 'get the really black one'. A lad pulled out a machete from his blazer sleeve to get someone. They sprayed deodorant in a lad's eye to blind him so they could stab him. "There was a lad born in Africa, a child soldier, his mum and dad got shot in front of him, and he was always the target, but you couldn't mess with him. They'd try to lock him in food tech and have knives to fight him but he wouldn't back down. The Asians got it a lot, they had their turbans slapped off. Their whole family came down the school, ready for a fight. It was mental." The anger spilling out was not always race-related, and sometimes came from something as innocuous as a five-a-side game that Christie's team had won. "We were in the corner picking up our stuff and this guy from the other side pulled a glass bottle out of his bag. He waved the bottle at me, and said, 'I've not got an issue with you, but if you carry on, you're going to get it'. I don't know what the issue was. He came round the side of a friend of mine, and dragged the bottle from his eye socket down to his cheek, carved it all the way through. His cheek was open. "I was lucky. A lot of people in my family are religious. They believe God guides you. I do feel someone was watching over me. That night, a lot of people went out looking for him and I got a call from this one lad. I was staying at my nan's house, and she said, 'You're not allowed out, you've got your homework'. So I told him, 'I can't disrespect my nan and it's two buses [away]'. The same lad who rang me got stabbed that night, 15 times, got mistaken for someone else. A car pulled up, he went to run, hadn't had his trainers done up properly, tripped and they got him. Punctured his lung. He survived. "There was another incident when we were all in a field, and the police came on, everyone scattered, and a person I'd been with got stabbed 25 times. That could easily have been me. "Even now, I've got mates doing 25-27 years in prison, one was going to be a professional with Aston Villa." There was plenty of talent around, including Wilson, now of Bournemouth. "We had good people around us who knew we had the ability to be footballers and pushed me and Callum towards that," he says. Like Wilson, Christie is tough, hardened by his upbringing. "That's why I'm worried for the new generation because I don't think they know how to deal with it," he says. "That experience helped us to be tougher." Going on loan from Coventry to Nuneaton Town in 2011 was "a bad experience", he recalls. "One guy was really weird. The first thing he said to me was, 'Come on, let's see your black cock'. This was a grown man, a player. I didn't know how to react. Then he said something about my mum. I wanted to fight him. I was a bit more hot-headed back then." During a career that has taken him from Coventry to Derby County, Middlesbrough and now Fulham, he has endured racist abuse. "I hear it at matches," he says. "Not regularly. I've had 'You black bastard', the N-word and been called a 'black faggot' because I had a pair of multi-coloured boots on. I've never thought of walking away but it does make you fall out of love with the game." He emphasises that he is speaking generally of his experience within football, mindful that South Yorkshire police are investigating an incident when Fulham played away to Barnsley on August 3, when Christie's sister was allegedly struck and racially abused by a Fulham fan. Twitter has become the real toxic forum. "With social media, they can hide behind certain profiles," Christie says. When representing Ireland in 2017, Christie conceded an own goal to Denmark and was immediately targeted. He received death threats and pictures of a black man hanging from a tree. "A guy started a petition on social media to have me lynched. People were liking it, agreeing to it, wanted to sign up. People questioned my eligibility to play for Ireland. My mum is Lebanese and Irish, my dad is Jamaican, and they have German on their side. I embrace all my cultures. But I got, 'F*** off back to Jamaica'." Christie's Ireland team-mate, James McClean, stood up for him — "He said, no one's skin colour should be brought into it" — and the FAI investigated. "Everyone had the screenshots over what had been said," he says. "But when I sat down with the police, from previous experience, I knew nothing was ever going to happen. They couldn't grasp the concept of it all. I said to them, 'Have you ever been turned down for an ice cream because of the colour of your skin?' There was an ice-cream man who drove round our area in Coventry who wouldn't serve the black people. We just ended the meeting." Twitter, slightly more responsive now, were less than helpful. "They came back with 'freedom of speech'," Christie recalls with a sigh. He agrees with Marcus Rashford on the need for proper verification for those wanting to post on social media. "If people are signing up they have to put in their details," he says. "You can't hide from a passport. People have to identify themselves. Then we'll see how brave they are. "People in higher authority have to do more. Do the FA do enough? Do Kick it Out do enough? It's just a matter of time before a player takes it in to their own hands. "If the guy said it in front of me, and I punch him, I'd be in trouble. I'd love to know how many would come to my face and say it. I'd actually respect them a bit more, because they've showed they got some bollocks. "I'd never respect a coward. It's just a bunch of cowards now, online, knowing they can get away with it. I don't believe anyone is born racist. It's how they are brought up. If kids tweet me racial abuse on Twitter, I say, 'All right, it's a kid.' I've replied to a few, then they've apologised. "Kano, the rapper, summed it up perfectly on his new album with if they can spray n***** on LeBron James's wall then what does that mean for everyone else?" He is referring to the song Teardrops on the Hoodies All Summer album and the lyrics "But there aint no safe haven; if they can spray paint 'N*****' on LeBron James crib". "And he's one of the biggest athletes in the world, if not the biggest, and even he's getting it," Christie says. "Look at the amount of abuse Raheem Sterling has taken. Look at the way he was always portrayed in a different light to Harry Kane." Christie is pleased that Sterling is speaking up, speaking out, but he has a caveat. "It's taken a big name like Raheem Sterling, massive Premier League star, with such a big platform, to say something for something to happen," he says. "But there are people in the Championship, League One, League Two and Conference who've had racist abuse more than Raheem but nothing is said. Other people are scared to speak up because they know it could hamper their career. I know a couple of up-and-coming athletes who run for GB, who say they can't speak up on racism because it will affect their livelihood." Is Brexit exacerbating tensions? "Yes," Christie immediately replies. In a troubled world, too many people, particularly the young, are being let down by society, which is why Christie now works with Football Beyond Borders, the education and social inclusion charity, giving 20 children who are struggling at school a chance in the fashion industry through his clothing line, Section. "They have to design a whole outfit, we get the clothes made for them, then they put on a fashion show, and present in a Dragon's Den style," Christie explains. "I always put people ahead of me. I don't think twice about it, in the position I'm in and how I grew up. Even if we grew up poor and rough I knew there was someone in a worse position. "My mum works at a school with the disadvantaged kids. She'll do anything for them. I get a call saying can she take clothes from my wardrobe? She gives them to the kids who can't afford them. It keeps me humble. "I was always taught you have to work for everything. I was always trying to make money, I used to sell cans of Coke at school, I could get you a laptop at a cheap price. One point it was 50 per cent off Apple! I knew people! My whole family was brought up on the 'no retreat, no surrender', through Errol, through his boxing." Christie knows how precious life is, but also how delicate his profession can be, how injury stalks players. "I was next to George Thorne, a fantastic player, technically brilliant, when he broke his leg," Christie recalls of their game for Derby against Ipswich Town in May 2016. Thorne was in the act of shooting when challenged by Jonathan Douglas. "People didn't realise that it was the sound of his leg that broke that everyone could hear, people thought it was the crossbar. He was screaming." Christie leant over his stricken friend. "I said, 'Oh, come on Thorney, what's up? You're all right'. He was in pain, he grabbed my hand. I turned him and his ankle stayed in the same place. I was shouting to the physios, 'come on quickly'." Thorne was out for 16 months. "I was ten metres away [on the bench] when Seamus Coleman broke his leg," Christie says of the Ireland right back's injury when tackled by Wales's Neil Taylor in March 2017. "I remember the sound of that breaking. I had to come on, after seeing that, it's not nice at all." All these experiences put in perspective the exasperation that Christie feels at not being in Scott Parker's plans at Fulham. "I respect the manager's decision, and I've nothing bad against Scotty, the gaffer, a great guy," he says. "That's the frustrating thing, I'd rather someone be honest, if he said he didn't want me. He hasn't given me a reason. Steven Sessegnon has come in and done really well, great young player. He's got Denis [Odoi] in there, who's obviously a centre back. "It's all happened after the transfer window. He knows how professional I am, I train really hard. I'm up at 7am, in a gym on my own in Guildford with one trainer before I go to training, body stuff. "After training, I go off and do an extra footballing session, away from the club. I'm pushing myself to make myself better. "I get a lot of abuse off some Fulham fans. I know they don't like me. I wouldn't say it's everyone but I got booed coming on as a sub last year, got booed in a warm-up. "I want to show them what I'm capable of. It's tough not playing. At times, I do get down, but it's in adversity you see what true characters are like. "If you want somebody to go into a dogfight, I will be at the front. I've always had that hunger. "In my family, we were always taught you have to fight. Never back down. Errol's 'no retreat, no surrender'. That's what I live by." When I sat down with police after online abuse, I knew nothing would happen. They couldn't grasp the concept of it I remember the white lads charging through, going: 'Get the really black one.' A lad pulled out a machete from his blazer sleeve to get someone. They sprayed deodorant in a lad's eyes to blind him so that they could stab him

filham

Quote from: MJG on October 07, 2019, 12:03:44 PM
Quote from: filham on October 07, 2019, 10:59:11 AM

It really needs to be made absolutely clear that there is not any element of racism in this matter,
But its not clear and there is an element i'm sorry to say. It may be small but you can't just sweep it away by saying there is not any.
No, I don't accept that. It is as clear as it can be. Think of the different players over the years that  have been picked on by our boo boys, hard to think of a black one. We absolutely worshiped the likes of Boa , Barry Hayles, Sess., Leroy Rossenior and Terry Angus ( Oh how we loved Terry), now the first black player to suffer from the boo boys
and it is an excuse to fly the racism flag.
In a earlier post I cited the case of Bill Dodgin, believe me what Christie is being subjected to is minute compared to what Dodgin suffered, Dodgin was white.

Matt10

Quote from: KeenCottager on October 07, 2019, 01:29:16 PM
'Racism makes you lose love of the game - a guy did a petition to have me lynched'


Growing up, Cyrus Christie saw friends stabbed in racist attacks and he still suffers sickening abuse. He tells Henry Winter why football simply must do more


Thanks for posting the article. Really good read. A testament to his character and how he lives day to day. Always been a fan of Christie, and am glad it's further validated here.

Currently, our squad is a tough one to get into. Hope he can find a spot, but if not, hope he can be successful on the pitch in any other way.


Marcel_Gecov

Such a shame the formatting has gone from that article. A really hard read now.

He seems like a smart guy and if I'm a bottom half Champ club Id be all over his signature in the winter.

The Rock

Quote from: bog on October 06, 2019, 09:06:40 PM
Footballers are not robots. I recall Chris Baird used to get booed when he came on as a sub until Roy arrived. They are human beings, if off form it is not their fault. It has just not worked out for Christie here. I thought he looked good when he first arrived an thought him to be a replacement for Fredericks. But it did not work out.  I hope he finds a club where it does.


092.gif   

I think with Baird he got even more stick initially because he was brought in by Sanchez who knew him from the NI side and everyone assumed knew how to use him. Roy was really good for him.

I just haven't rated Christie. I haven't slagged him either. We just need (and have needed) better. Can be said about many of our defenders over the past number of years as well at different points.

WokingFFC

#54
Quote from: Matt10 on October 07, 2019, 03:57:50 PM
Quote from: KeenCottager on October 07, 2019, 01:29:16 PM
'Racism makes you lose love of the game - a guy did a petition to have me lynched'


Growing up, Cyrus Christie saw friends stabbed in racist attacks and he still suffers sickening abuse. He tells Henry Winter why football simply must do more


Thanks for posting the article. Really good read. A testament to his character and how he lives day to day. Always been a fan of Christie, and am glad it's further validated here.

Currently, our squad is a tough one to get into. Hope he can find a spot, but if not, hope he can be successful on the pitch in any other way.

100% agree Matt 10, Cyrus appears to be a very decent guy, does loads for the community and is grounded. I would never boo a player if wearing a Fulham shirt, I only go to watch and support the team that is chosen to play


Fulham 442

#55




I think with Baird he got even more stick initially because he was brought in by Sanchez who knew him from the NI side and everyone assumed knew how to use him. Roy was really good for him.

I just haven't rated Christie. I haven't slagged him either. We just need (and have needed) better. Can be said about many of our defenders over the past number of years as well at different points.

Yes i agree Baird got dog's abuse from our fans repeatedly in the early days. I remember being at Chelsea away and a section of our crowd booed when his name was read out on the team sheet. My son and I turned to each other both looking incredulous!

MJG

Quote from: filham on October 07, 2019, 02:50:13 PM
Quote from: MJG on October 07, 2019, 12:03:44 PM
Quote from: filham on October 07, 2019, 10:59:11 AM

It really needs to be made absolutely clear that there is not any element of racism in this matter,
But its not clear and there is an element i'm sorry to say. It may be small but you can't just sweep it away by saying there is not any.
No, I don't accept that. It is as clear as it can be. Think of the different players over the years that  have been picked on by our boo boys, hard to think of a black one. We absolutely worshiped the likes of Boa , Barry Hayles, Sess., Leroy Rossenior and Terry Angus ( Oh how we loved Terry), now the first black player to suffer from the boo boys
and it is an excuse to fly the racism flag.
In a earlier post I cited the case of Bill Dodgin, believe me what Christie is being subjected to is minute compared to what Dodgin suffered, Dodgin was white.
You may not accept it but its here. Don't think that racists for one minute have any logic. They will abuse one person and cheer another of the same colour within minutes. It's the words and actions they use that make them racist. If you haven't seen or heard it at Fulham then well done, but I have and it's around. Small as I say but I've been involved in questioning about witnessing it so don't say it isn't there, because it is. Quite frankly there are a few on here who skirt very close to being that. They may not see it, may not even think what they are writing is in their view racist, but the undertone is there.
Just the views of a long term fan

HV71

Agree MJG - in any form racism is vile and simply has to be condemned. Some on here should Rethink their comments.


Statto

#58
Booing our own players is wrong. I cringed at the crowd's reaction when Ranieri made that sub (was it Christie on for Schurrle IIRC?) and again when Kamara got booed after missing that penalty. IIRC Martin also got booed after his 'strike action'.

Similarly racism is wrong and I fully accept most on here who've been going to games for many years will have heard something racist from a Fulham fan at some point. I have.

Nonetheless, I see no reason to conflate the two things. That is, unless someone is claiming they witnessed the booing of Christie and then the persons doing it turned to them and said "we dont care that he's playing poorly, we're just booing him cos he's black."

Also FWIW I retract my previous criticism of Christie for ostensibly conflating the two things. Having read the article it sounds like he treats them as separate issues and just happens to have been asked questions about both things in the interview

Sting of the North

Quote from: Statto on October 07, 2019, 06:19:06 PM
Booing our own players is wrong. I cringed at the crowd's reaction when Ranieri made that sub (was it Christie on for Schurrle IIRC?) and again when Kamara got booed after missing that penalty. IIRC Martin also got booed after his 'strike action'.

Similarly racism is wrong and I fully accept most on here who've been going to games for many years will have heard something racist from a Fulham fan at some point. I have.

Nonetheless, I see no reason to conflate the two things. That is, unless someone is claiming they witnessed the booing of Christie and then the persons doing it turned to them and said "we dont care that he's playing poorly, we're just booing him cos he's black."

Also FWIW I retract my previous criticism of Christie for ostensibly conflating the two things. Having read the article it sounds like he treats them as separate issues and just happens to have been asked questions about both things in the interview

The two things don't have to be mutually exclusive though. If someone thinks a player plays poorly and then uses racist language towards the player as a way of expressing the dislike, the underlying reason to abusing the player is first and foremost that he isn't playing well but that doesn't make the words less racist. Not saying that is the case here though.