Is it just me or was that possibly the worst response ever made given the delicate situation by the 'board member' of Manly United?!? Air of over-privileged much?



What do you think about the FourFourTwo article Keifer Dotti rocked by racism row?
SIX weeks after being subjected to a racial slur in an U20s match, Sydney FC youth defender Keifer Dotti finally has some closure.



Have your say.

Sounds like a bit of a blow up to me. Dont know what Dottis dad is on about though. This happens on every second field in rugby league, he shouldnt be so surprised. Sometimes a player makes a horrible challenge and cops some flack for it, who even knows what was said. Grassroots has to get better at handling these types of situations though

Been to over 1000 rugby league games in my life and have never heard anything like it. Complete rubbish.

Dunno it was due to "over-privilege" but in any event the Manly board member's response is quite disgraceful and Football NSW or FFA need to step in and sort this out.

You cannot have an Aboriginal player feel that he has been racially abused and there is no real preparedness on behalf of the authorities to stamp it out. Or indeed a player from any other background - we have over 100 backgrounds and nationalities playing the game and if a player's first instinct is to racially abuse someone each time something happens on the field that he disagrees with it'll lead to a racial abuse free for all.

Which means a strong message needs to be sent out, not the wishy washy crap from Manly United. FNSW or FFA need to get involved ASAP.

How pathetic is this Manly player and especially the coach trying to cover his tracks by saying he has an Aboriginal girlfriends and friends. If this player had a half Aboriginal girlfriend then he wouldnt be a racist little jerk and say what he said. That kid needs to be educated in life and see that the words he has said is wrong and it shouldnt even be coming out of his mouth. I really hope Keifer takes this further and takes legal action against this Manly player and the coach who clearly is not educated and is probably racist himself thats why he really doesnt care about what Keifer and his family is going through. I can't believe its taken that long to get an apology for something so wrong and here people are saying that racism doesnt exist anymore!!! Well until it happens to you then you have no idea what this poor kid and his family is feeling right now and if I was the Manly players girlfriend I wouldnt be with him as he is a racist and obviously doesnt care about her and her culture...

Poor response from Manly. It was "unfortunate" that Dotti took offence, it is impossible for him to take it any other way. Sure it may have been a heat of the moment expletive but the fact that the force of his insult was racial is the underlying racism coming to the surface.

FFA needs to act hard and fast, if Football wants to pride itself on its multi-cultural tolerance then it needs to be a leader in how it deals with these issues.

I hope more indigenous kids are attracted to and feel welcome in Football.

Eldar, Its great to see people like you support the NO Racism in the game and also supporting more Aboriginal kids to play Football. Keifer is a great role model for Aboriginal kids and it would be sad to see him leave as this would affect the future for other Aboriginal kids who love to play Football.

It takes two to Tango. Normally retaliatory comments don’t come out unless something happens.

Mate not always the case. being involved with rockdale, i can tell you the kid was distraught and rightfully so. it was a strong tackle but nothing sinister. in no way can that trigger a racial response. we were very proactive in seeking a response and an outcome to comfort keifer. hes a good kid and hopefully he can move on.

as for the manner in which fnsw handled the whoe thing, or the response from manly, theyre different issues and id rather not go there.

I think that expletives against your mother or family are right up there with racist comments. I wasn't there ....... But i do know that there are three sides to every argument or situation.

There is what the defendant thought happened, what the aggressor thought happened ....... And what ACTUALLY happened. Three different sides all relevant only to the people involved.

I would love to have a dollar for every time i was told "my mother wore army boots".

Get over it people ..... This is sport ....... What happens on the field should stay on the field. If a princess wants to take it off the field i reckon he may as well stop playing the game until he grows some balls. ........ Oh !!! His father has already threatened that ????

I hope the infamous attention gained by this issue being highlighted in the media assists with both your careers ......... It certainly didn't hurt Ryal's.

Master Baiter, your just as pathetic as the rest of them mate. I really hope someone knocks some sense into that little brain of yours and its clear your a racist aswell and im sure you wouldnt like it if this incident happened to you and your family. There is a big difference to hearing "Your mother wore army boots" to being called an Abo so grow up.

The ref didn't hear it, neither did his assistant - so before we jump to conclusions about what was said, does anyone actually know which words were used?

The kid shouldn't be subjected to racism, no matter what he did. No-one should, if the guy had of got up and called him a dirty cheat or giving him a push, then there is no issue.

I can't believe people don't see the problem here and it is clear that Football needs to continue to help to educate its followers

Edited by Eldar: 12/8/2013 11:14:08 AM

he feels he was racially abused, end of. doesn't matter what was said really. I also echo the sentiments that the manly board members response was woefully inadequate "we’re just hoping this is the end to the event" ](*,) ](*,) ](*,)

Geez I had to giggle. Both sides are absolutely ridiculous.

Back when I was playing state league we had an aboriginal player in our team. When we faced up against our local rivals in a preseason cup game, one of their players made a racist remark to him. I've never felt so offended in my life that someone would do that to my teammate. Me and another of my teammates "put the player down" :lol: whilst one of our other teammates went to tell our coach. Our coach approached the ref and said if the culprit wasn't sent from the field immediately that we would refuse to play the game. The ref and the linesmen didn't hear it, so there wasn't much they could do. They said that, so our coach ordered us to go to our sheds and pack up. The club president immediately had the federation on the blower, and the opposition were fined money (I think) and "forfeited" the game 3-0. I haven't seen the culrpit since.

Solidarity ftfw

FFS, this is football the world sport, leave the racism to all the bogans in nrl etc.

By no means is racism acceptable in society and of-course, this kid making racist remarks needed to be accountable a lot sooner than 3 weeks. That is poor, and surely, one must understand when they've made a mistake, to go about rectifying it as soon as possible. Manly's board members comments are solely to do with the person and his overall character. I take it for what it is. But it does not rub well on his character the fact that it took so long for an apology.

I feel like, though, if comments, however harsh or tame, are to be taken to heart to the extent of giving away the game you love, then I don't think you had the mental capacity to make it to the highest level to start with. Without opening up another can of worms, surely what is said on the field in the heat of battle should not be taken in as gospel, and if anything, be used as sources of motivation for future performances.

I don't know, maybe I am being unrealistic?

=d>

If the lad was subject to racial abuse, then he's absolutely correct to be offended, and the Manly officials are absolutely in the wrong to play it down. However, as we don't know what was said, and as no one else heard what was said, I find it very hard to take sides.

Professional football is not for you.

In what way?

Do you often convict people without looking at the evidence?

:lol: look at the poster Ben ;)

Could be unrealistic, but I hold a similar view to this.

Reminds me of an up-and-coming Aussie Bballer in the States saying that an article that came out here in the last week or so has made him rethink playing for the Boomers...

I think the person who made the statement is not the problem, he may have thought it was just a comment in the heat of the moment. What matters is the effect it has on Keifer Dotti and the way the matter is dealt with by the players, the clubs and the FFA.

We as Football fans should also always be aware of why racism is wrong and why it has no place in our game. We are never going to stop it but we should never accept it. I support Keifer and I urge the other player to think about his actions and the effect it has had on Keifer.

Edited by Eldar: 12/8/2013 04:55:43 PM

MarkD? Name doesn't ring a bell.

if you can't handle on field niggling then professional football is not for you.

Is it truly that hard to understand?

Mother and sister comments, racism is all the norm on the pitch, if players can't handle it then truly dont think they are up to any sport at an elite level.

I'm so glad you're a wanderers fan.

Mark D = colossal douche bag

In a horrifically strange way I agree with you - a bit.

Say virtually anything you want to a player on the pitch and get away with it - but the second you so much as mention skin-tone or ethnic background you are suddenly a racist prick.

Don't get me wrong though - if you are a racist prick you deserve whatever you get.