It didn't take long to start.

As the Andalusian derby, between rivals Malaga and Seville kicked off, every time the black players from Seville touched the ball, that familiar, sickening, cry went up.

Spanish football fans seem content with their racism, as England's Emile Heskey

At first I could not believe my ears. I was instantly transported back to the bad old days of English football, when abuse like this was commonplace.

Did it escape these numbskulls that their own star player, Paulo Wanchope, who scored the winning goal in a rather dismal game, was himself black?

Or perhaps these fans were afflicted with a strange form of colour-blindness that only saw the colour of opposing players, and not their own?

I looked to see if the referee would ask the club officials to ask these fans to stop – as has happened at other grounds.

But no action was taken and the chanting went on.

I looked across at a black Malaga fan, his discomfort obvious every time the chanting started again.  I wondered how many times he has had to endure this.

*quote1*By chance, the Spanish minister of development, Magdalena Alvarez, was at the game to promote the Socialist government's campaign for the EU constitutional referendum to be held next month.

What must Senora Alvarez, who must have heard the chanting, be thinking as she tried to persuade Spaniards to enter into a spirit of internationalism?

Before the game, all the flags of the EU were paraded on the ground as part of the campaign.

How did this match with the ugly racism which was all too alive in the crowd?

And while the match went on, advertising banners around the ground promoted Madrid's bid to stage the Olympics in 2012.

 1 2 Next >