The alleged incident of racial vilification involving Ali Abbas in the Sydney derby is a very important moment in Australian society, let alone our football.
Before I explain why, we need to be very careful not to demonise Brendan Santalab over an incident he denies and is unproven.
Players have been tainted before without due process and people’s lives are at play, so let us give Brendan the benefit of the doubt.
That said, it is the conduct and comments of Ali Abbas that are a model to broader society about how to confront racism of any form.
Also, the suggestion that 'anything goes' on the field is not only ridiculous and disgraceful but, sadly, all too common.
Every player, coach and fan should be clear by now that there is no amnesty on behavior inside a football stadium or the pitch itself, that is not acceptable in wider society.
Just because we are playing and experiencing football and go through ‘heat of the moment’ junctures, is no excuse or mitigation against anything that is not acceptable any moment of any day, in any workplace, anywhere in Australia.
Players must stay within the rules of the game and of society, and this goes equally for fan chants and songs.
Champion AFL player Adam Goodes was racially abused last year during a match between Sydney and Collingwood. Goodes made a very important stand, claiming that he would not accept conduct of any kind that fell below the basic human rights we all expect. His actions marked an important moment in our ongoing national struggle to recognise Aboriginal rights and heal decades of institutionalised racism and neglect.
Whether the Abbas incident is proven or otherwise, this is of equal importance in regard to immigrants to this country, who can see Abbas refusing to countenance what he perceived as a racial slur. This sends a powerful message to every Australian that this sort of behavior is out of place.
While it would have been preferable for Abbas to have approached the incident with calmness and particularly not to speak of ‘attack’, he articulated his feelings beautifully:
"We are not here to attack religion or culture, we are here to play football," he said. "I come from a different country, I respect everyone here. I should get it back. If I don't get it back, I'm going to attack.
"That's what happened.
"If people attack religion, if people attack culture - I'm against that. "We need to stop that."
Bravo.
In recent times, then, we have had two prominent sportspeople, one indigenous and one of Iraqi background being (in this case, allegedly) abused racially and both incidents have raised very important endemic problems that, as a nation, we need to confront.
Though we are one of the most multicultural nations, there is still an element of racism that exists. The characterisation of refugees as ‘boat people’ feeds this narrative. We must continue to take steps toward understanding, acceptance and inclusion.
This is what Harmony Day and the harmony Game in primary schools on 21 March is all about, to celebrate our diversity and increase understanding of different cultures.
Ali Abbas has aided this process by taking a stand for multiculturalism that will become an important model for any immigrant to say, ‘I respect this country, and demand that you do likewise’.
Often it takes a major incident to really expose issues to the public forum and, coming one week after FFA’s anti racism round, this is perfectly timed, if such a thing can be said about something so unsavoury.
It is one thing having a motherhood statement for a round, another to confront the issues directly and demonstrate how important it is to the game, and our society.
Nothing is proven and Brendan Santalab deserves suspended judgement until such time as the case is run, but Abbas’s response and comments are what every Australian, of any and every extraction should mirror.
‘I respect everyone else, demand respect for myself, and if people attack religion and culture, I’m against that.’
So say all of us Ali, so say all of us.
