The long arm of the FA law.

[Workingman]

New Football Association rules regarding racism and discrimination mean that grounds can be closed and players and officials be banned for up to 12 games even when such incidents happen "outside of a standard football setting" or in private.

Talk about a can of worms.

So what is to stop a group of supporters of one club buying the scarves of another and then chanting obscenities outside a ground? What is to stop some nutters registering on a club's message board and posting inflammatory comments? Both actions could lead to ground closures and fines. And who decides when a line has been crossed because in the present climate any criticism, even when justified, of someone who is not of the same race or gender or sexual orientation is automatically classed as racism or discrimination?

I am all for reducing racism and discrimination but this could make things worse and TPTB need to get out of the dreamscape they inhabit and recognise that these things can never be completely eradicated. Reduced, yes, but wiped out completely - I don't think so.

[TheOstrich]

http://www.thefa.com/news/2020/aug/06/n ... hed-070720

As you say, a complete can of worms. I think it's going to be impossible to police fairly. Nobody likes to hear racist or homophobic chanting, but you're never going to eradicate it by brute force.

More worryingly, it's a symptom of the continued rise of the thought police in society today that I feel is inevitably going to lead to the erosion of established freedoms. Better get used to it, fella, it's the New Norm!