To all the left-fascists who worship at the feet of endarkened Europe: Choke on this one!

How could there be racism in the former socialist paradise of eastern Germany?

And here's an extra special "Shame on you!" to my idiot Italian cousins who participate in this ignorant nonsense.

USA Today: Concerns raised over racism during Cup

Olympic Stadium in Berlin, where African-American sprinter
Jesse Owens famously won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics in front of Adolf Hitler, will host six matches of the World Cup soccer finals, including the championship July 9. The stadium has been renovated with a stunning steel-and-glass roof and luxury suites, with one VIP lounge bearing Owens' name.

Despite the new look, the stadium might have a hard time escaping its history as a symbol of racial intolerance. Seventy years after what became known as the Nazi Olympics, increasingly menacing racism within Europe is a major story line for this edition of soccer's quadrennial showcase.

In Germany and several other European nations, crowds shower minority players with racial insults at times. Several of the U.S. team's African-American players who compete professionally in European leagues say they have been targets of discrimination and verbal and even physical abuse because of their race - on and off the field. There are concerns about how racial incidents might affect the World Cup in Germany, where the 32-team tournament begins June 9 and will be held in 12 cities.

An anti-racism group in Germany is so concerned that it has warned non-white World Cup visitors to avoid rural towns and villages outside Berlin, in the formerly communist eastern part of the country.

Boorish behavior by hooligans has long been a problem in European soccer, but anti-discrimination advocates say racial slurs and racially charged incidents are on the rise because of a confluence of factors. Among them: the increasing racial diversity of formerly all-white clubs, a growing resistance to immigration from African and Arab nations in several European countries, the tendency of race-related conflicts to grab headlines, and greater scrutiny of such incidents. In some areas, including rural eastern Germany, racial tension also appears to be fueled by a lack of economic opportunities for whites.

"It used to be violence, and violence is still a part of the picture at least in parts of Eastern Europe. But it's now about race," says Piara Powar, the director of Kick It Out, a London-based organization dedicated to fighting racism in soccer. Powar says fans realize they can cause a ruckus - and perhaps upset a key opposing player - with racial taunts.

Defender Oguchi Onyewu (oh-GOOCH-ee own-YAY-woo), an African-American who plays for the Belgian club Standard Lige, is expected to be one of the USA's breakout stars in this World Cup. At 6-4, 210 pounds, he's also the biggest player on the U.S. team, which begins play June 12 against the Czech Republic. But recently, Onyewu's size hasn't deterred rival club fans from launching racist attacks on him.

"I've been harassed while in a car, punched in face, heard monkey chants," Onyewu says matter-of-factly. Onyewu has played in France and Belgium the last four years but says this is the first season he has experienced such overt racism.

Onyewu, who is from Olney, Md., says in March he was leaving a rival team's game with a few friends when he was spotted by some fans of Club Brugge, a league opponent.

"They were shaking the car, they spit on the car, they were throwing food, kicking the car, punching the car, all that stuff," says Onyewu, who believes the incident was racially motivated. Part of the bumper of his Chrysler 300 was ripped off, he says. "I was too angry to be scared. My friends wouldn't let me get out of the car because they thought the fans would hurt me."

Onyewu says when his team played in April at a rival's stadium where fans sit near the field, he was punched in the face - during the game. "I was going to throw the ball in, and some fans started doing monkey chants and I made a gesture like, 'Whatever.' And a guy reached over and punched me in the mouth." Onyewu says the fan was suspended and fined.

"You just ignore it, because whenever you react, that provokes them to do it more," says Onyewu, 24. "I know it's not the majority, it's a minority of people. ... I can't tell you why it started or why it still exists. I just know it exists in Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Spain ... you name it."

More players of color in Europe

Increasing immigration has incited some of the racial tension across Europe, Powar says, citing the riots in the Paris suburbs last year that put a spotlight on immigrants' frustration at a lack of economic opportunity, especially for young people.

"We have a hysteria around immigration, fears that are being stoked up, particularly in southern Europe at the moment," says Powar, whose group is part of a network of organizations from 13 European countries called Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE).

Experts on the topic, as well as U.S. players, say racist behavior doesn't seem as taboo in Europe as it is in the USA. "It's crazy to think in this day and age that stuff still exists," says U.S. team captain Claudio Reyna, who has played in Germany, Scotland and England the last 10 seasons. "I've been around it and heard it and seen it. Many countries in Europe are many years behind with their tolerance towards racism. It's disappointing."

Due to time constraints, we now move to further action.

For the U.S. team's African-American players who grew up in what is largely a white, suburban sport at home, the blatant prejudice overseas has been eye opening.

"In America, we don't have that. No one is saying racial things at you," says U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, who plays in the Dutch League for PSV Eindhoven. "It's pretty bad in Spain, some in Italy. That goes with the territory."

In a European Champions League qualifier against Red Star Belgrade in Serbia and Montenegro in 2004, Beasley was welcomed rudely. When he touched the ball, he says, the fans whistled, booed and made monkey noises. At road games in the Netherlands, Beasley says, he faces similar treatment at times, which puzzles him because many of his team's opponents also have players of color.

Cory Gibbs, a black defender who had to withdraw from the U.S. team last week because of a knee injury, says he faced discrimination while playing for St. Pauli in Germany in 2003 and 2004. "My experiences were when we played in the east part of Germany," he says. "It's more direct and blunt; it's out there. In the U.S., things aren't as direct."

Instant translation: Jesse Jackson has not been elected president, so Americans are just as racist. Only smarter about it.

BTW, isn't it interesting how the victim mindset has been so thoroughly inculcated in American blacks that they can't see how America is any different from imbeciles making monkey noises in their direction?

He says when he tried to enter restaurants in eastern Germany, he sometimes was told, "This is a private party. You're not welcomed."

Pope Benedict XVI weighs in:

Concerns over soccer racism have prompted action from political and religious leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI. An anti-racism message from the pope was read to fans before an exhibition game between Italy and Germany in March...

How does Big Soccer intend to fight back?

FIFA, soccer's world governing body, passed anti-racism legislation in March that will be enforced at the World Cup. Players, coaches and team officials at the tournament can be sanctioned for racial incidents. Fans, however, will not.

"We need to keep a very close eye on what happens at the World Cup," FIFA President Sepp Blatter said during a recent meeting with reporters. "If something happens on the (field), on the bench or somewhere directly connected to the match, we must and will react. But we can't control what happens in the stands. The fans will be spread out around the stadium ... we haven't set aside specific blocks. So we can't punish teams for incidents where we can't clearly apportion blame."

Players lining up before each game will hold banners condemning racism, and, beginning with the quarterfinals, team captains will read anti-racism messages before games. There will also be two anti-discrimination days during the event. The World Cup's slogan: "A Time to Make Friends."

German officials are concerned that neo-Nazis and other racist groups could try to disrupt the event, citing what they call a recent increase in violence against dark-skinned people. Two weeks ago, Uwe-Karsten Heye, formerly German chancellor Gerhard Schreder's spokesman and now head of an anti-racism group, warned World Cup visitors "with a different skin color" to avoid towns and villages outside Berlin and other rural parts of the former East Germany.

U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who plays for German club Borussia Mnchengladbach, says many taunts are aimed at getting opposing players angry and affecting their play. "You have to accept that it's going to happen," he says. "The truth is, it's going to happen to me."

However, he adds, racial taunts are "an issue for (Onyewu) and DaMarcus, who have experienced those situations. It's hard for me to talk to (African-American teammates) about a racist issue, but if somebody has experienced that, I can say to them, 'Hey, don't sweat it, man. You go play your game and use it as a sign of pride. Go score three goals. Go be Jesse Owens. That'll do more than anything else.' "

Mr. Keller has it exactly correct. Nobody who was paying attention gave a rat's ass about Nazi racial theories after Jesse Owens ran them into the dust.