THE widespread condemnation which followed Wigan chairman Dave Whelan’s alleged racist and anti-Semitic outburst last week was understandable.
His Alf Garnett-esque comments in the wake of appointing Malky Mackay manager added to the outrage .
Mackay is subject to an FA probe, investigating texts and emails of a racist, sexist and homophobic nature.
The anti-discriminatory bodies didn’t miss Whelan who could now find himself in the dock alongside his manager.
Football Against Racism in Europe were among the many campaign groups who, quite rightly, took the pair to task.
Yet where was the outcry from bodies such as FARE when this month Aleksandar Tonev was hit with a seven-game ban by the SFA for racist conduct?
The Celtic midfielder was found guilty by an independent tribunal of abusing Aberdeen’s Shay Logan, reportedly calling him a “f*****g black c***.’
What happened to showing racism the red card?
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There was not so much as a yellow from their executive director Piara Powar who is also on FIFA’s anti-racism task force.
Surely if you are the head of an organisation which vows to fight all forms of racism you cannot pick and choose which abhorrent acts to condemn.
And while not for one minute playing down the severity of Mackay and Whelan referring to Chinese people as “Chinks” surely, on a sliding scale, calling a fellow professional a “black c***” is far more offensive?
When John Terry and Luis Suarez were found guilty of similar racist offences Powar and his colleagues couldn’t have been any more critical.
Yet not a word when Tonev was found guilty of “excessive misconduct by the use of offensive, insulting and abusive language of a racist nature”.
Regardless of the fact no hard evidence was presented – it was one Aberdeen’s word against Celtic’s – the case against Tonev was proved.
Last year former Rangers chief executive Charles Green was fined by the SFA for “offensive and racist comments” in an interview that referred to former Ibrox commercial director Imran Ahmad.
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Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths also has a racism charge hanging over his head after being caught on camera singing inappropriate songs along with fellow Hibs supporters.
Again this seems unworthy of FARE’s intervention.
Powar’s name may be familiar to Rangers fans as his organisation was forced to deny claims of a “deliberate and targeted campaign” against the Ibrox club three years ago.
Rangers were disciplined, and correctly so, by UEFA after it emerged supporters sang sectarian songs during the home and away Europa League clashes with PSV Eindhoven.
On both occasions they were reported on the basis of submissions from FARE, rather than the UEFA match delegate.
At the time Powar said: “There are explicit suggestions emanating from Rangers FC of ‘a deliberate and targeted campaign against the club’.
“The FARE network is focused only on our core mission of tackling discrimination in football and encouraging social inclusion through the game. We have no axe to grind with any club.”
In 1999 Rangers defender Lorenzo Amoruso racially abused Nigerian striker Victor Ipkeba during a European clash with Borussia Dortmund.
Again the incident was not included in the UEFA delegate’s report but Powar, then with anti-racism group Kick it Out, demanded it be investigated.
Fast forward to 2013 and former Celtic player Paul Elliot had to resign from his positions within the FA and Kick it Out after he branded ex-Charlton defender Richard Rufus a “n****r” in a text conversation.
Powar was quick to Elliot’s defence insisting: “I can understand the concern over the use of the n-word, whoever uses it, in whichever context.
“However, I cannot accept it is racist to use it between two friends and business colleagues in a private text.
“Racism and other forms of discrimination are not simply about words. It may be difficult for some to accept the difference between those words used with discriminatory intent and those that are not.”
But when the League Managers Association misguidedly dismissed Mackay’s comments, which were also sent by text and email, as friendly banter Powar’s private text argument suddenly didn’t hold water.
He tweeted: “Wow! The LMA defending the indefensible. Why would you put out something so utterly ridiculous? Because you haven’t a clue.”
Now this is not about Rangers and Celtic but about what is fair and what isn’t.
And when it comes to removing the ugly stain of racism it would seem FARE is not always FAIR.