British senior politician compares Poland to South Africa during apartheid

Polish people are fully aware of this infamous British history , So today`s lessons made by BBC reporters are perceived as very ridicule clearly showing how they try to sweep all their problems under the carpet by pointing out a finger on others . Thats the easiest way . I wouldn`t mind if it was a professional example of reporting instead of a simple piece of garbage made for simpletons .

By ilk do you mean North Americans? By the way,Bieganski, where are you from? Your English is superb. I'm surprised you bothered to learn the language of colonial oppressors like me!

He is right!

Racism in Victorian Britain - Professor Richard J Evans, Gresham College history lecture
youtube.com/watch?v=i81r_Wj-90s

I agree. One of the other posters tried to dismiss their criminal past as "ancient history" but this just reminded me of the phrase "ignorance is bliss".

It must be nice to be in Britain where the high standard of living still being enjoyed today was literally built off the beaten, bloodied and broken backs of others from all around the world. But the people they exploited were poor, non-white and from far away so it easy to assuage any guilt by simply forgetting it all. Let bygones be bygones they declare when confronted with their dirty deeds.

Shouldn't certain intuitions better stick to the certain standards and not give in to Soviet style propaganda.
Labeling has nothing to do with reality as well you should know.


Bowing before idol of the PC isn't an option.
You should make up your mind what are you postulating - issue of untoward behavior among football fans or installation of the PC regime with its fanatics and commissars !


I don't think so. They should eradicate racism in their countries first and then and only then come and preach in Poland.

Reason of anti-social behavior are complex and to solve them is not enough to preach and getting righteous.
To be honest that only works for a while and may as well push people into radical positions - as radicalism breads radicalism.

Do they really? It would very much seem from the posts by Brits on this page that you are lying when you claim that.


Of course you are, just as you are fully aware of what the Yalta agreement said, the names of the concentration camps Poland ran before and after WW-II, the number of Poles who volunteered for the German armed forces, the number of Jews murdered by Poles in newly independent Poland, the number of holocaust survivors murdered by Poles, etc, etc.

This thread is not about the Holocaust, please keep on topic

It is rather sad when Poles try to excuse their present misdeeds by pointing at the past misdeeds of others.

Reparations? To Polish football hooligans? Or Polish football players? Or victims of Polish football hooliganism?

Now you wouldn't be feebly trying to deflect from the issue of racism in Polish football, successive Polish governments', failure to solve the problem and certain Polish politicians actually encouraging them?

Would you now.......

Some circles influenced BBC into such anti-Polish campaign. It would be interesting to know who is behind it . who pull the string? Are Putin's people provocations in Poland is connected by anyway to scaremongering campaign in Britain. Are British authorities aware of the fact ? Are they cooperating with Putin or not?

Those are interesting questions not some history issues.
Who influenced cracovia fans (if they were indeed football fans) to such stun like that which is pretty much thing of the past on the Polish stadiums.

By the way jon:
Reason of anti-social behavior are complex. Is not enough to preach.
Branding and insulting all nation for few football fans oddities is ridiculous. Also it is pretty much hostile act.

If Poland's politicians did actually preach to them it would be a start. The outrageous behaviour, caught on film, can't be excused at all. The worst thing however is that it hasn't been addressed at all.


And what makes it so ironic is that the UK was one of the first major countries to ban slavery.

Recent? A stretch even by your standards, given that the slave trade in the UK was banned in 1807. Do remind us when slavery in Poland was abolished (i.e. after that date) and by whom it was abolished (i.e. not Poles but instead by your occupiers).

And let's not even go into the topic of all the people who can not get back from the state of Poland the property which was stolen from them by the state after WWII.

If you're going to use the history of others to excuse your own present misdeeds, you really should pick a better history than that of Poland, otherwise you'll soon find the tactic boomeranging back at you.

I never denied there is racism in Poland. I've already stated in my other posts that racism exists in all societies.

However you and others are taking great delight in seeing the problem of hooliganism in Poland being blown completely out of proportion.

How can any of you pass judgement on Poland but then cower or lash out like a cornered animal when people use Britain as a comparison? You have to admit that Britain is and always will be the tarnished gold standard when it comes to racism and crimes against humanity.

I don't see any lashing out by Brits at all. Or great delight in racism. What I see is Euro 2012 being hosted by two states who have unresolved problems with racism in football; problems that most other European countries have tackled with varying degrees of success. Poland and Ukraine chose - made expensive bids even, to host the tournament and it is not unreasonable that both countries should have at least tried to address the problem in the period between the bid and the actual matches. They've had plenty of time and people can hardly complain if the issue attracts attention.

A very topical issue, and the only 'cornered animal' here is you.

Interesting. Please explain. How Poland and Ukraine begged ? Who, when, where ? Thank you in advance.

Now, this bs is going way too far guys!!!

Why the hell is everyone trying to shape Poland to their needs and standards? I hate it when people do it with the US so I understand Poles when they want their country to be what they want it to be. I do have to say that western Europe is really bad about it. You guys believe that your way of thinking is the only right way of thinking and whoever feels differently, is wrong.

As long as Poles like Poland the way it is, leave it the f/ck alone, it's not your country.
I'm not defending just Poland, I'm defending us here too. I don't want America to become another United Kingdom or any other country for that matter.

You are mistaken. If the problems you claim are so shockingly bad in Poland and Ukraine then the games would never have been hosted there. Otherwise you need to admit that the games went ahead because of corruption in UEFA and for that reason alone the games should be boycotted.

Hypocritical Brits have been jumping up and down warning everyone about Poland and Ukraine and yet fans from all over the world have still been going to the games and there have been no mass evacuations out of either country. You must regard all these fans and players (especially the British) as complete idiots for walking willingly into two lion dens.

Britain has unresolved issues with racism at every level of its society. So where are your calls to have the London Olympics boycotted? Oh, that's right, "nothing to see here." Its "ancient history."

Feel free to lash out or cower.

Let me put it this way, if a group of African Americans (to pick a race which you clearly are not a member of) started abusing your children, calling them "Fcuking crackers/yids/chinks/pakis" [delete whichever racial slurs do not apply], would you consider that to be in any way acceptable? No? So why do you expect other people to accept it.

Racism is wrong; it is that simple.

In response to me twisting truth in Balotelli getting attacked with bananas. He talked about being attacked in a bar in Italy in a recent interview but I am pretty sure he was racially abused in many Italian matches. That is one of the, if not the main reason, he left the Serie A. I do remember bananas being hurled at many players in the past.

I actually think that banana throwing and nasty racist chanting is a much more complicated problem to do with social inequality. The people who commit these, let us call them, 'racial crimes,' are often poor, much poorer and in far worse situations than the players or people in general, that they are aiming their abuse at. They resort to racism as one form of anger. If they were rich and had great lives, I doubt they would even bother with it, they would have other stuff to get on with.

In general though, I cannot stand the way so many people who are not Polish have so much to say on how Poland should act. There is a belief in the UK and probably the USA too, that these countries are the model that others need to aspire to. Why? Who says? I think racism itself is wrong and ignorant. Monkey noises and banana throwing is terrible, it makes the people doing it seem more like animals than those who they claim to be animals. What I think is not racism is wanting to prevent a country from overflowing with foreigners. I think you need be able to look after your own people first and foremost. I am not a fan of globalisation and general multicultural mixing. I think it does more harm than good. If you in Britain are proud that a British person has no race, creed or belief then great, but Poland is not like that and does not have to be, in order to be 'normal.'

Racism is wrong, so much is true but still, don't go to Poland if you don't like it, it's not your country, right?

Besides, I was in Poland and it's not really as bad as everyone is painting it here.. Did I like everything about Poland, NO but it doesn't matter, I don't have to like it, it's not my country. Nothing and no one is perfect.

It is no more (or less) about the holocaust than it is about any other part of history. Given that Poles clearly want to discuss British history and how British people should pay reparations for the past acts of Britain, why can't Polish history also be discussed?

Also, please note that I did not bring up the Holocaust, only the people who had survived it.

They joined the EU so..............
They have chosen not to be alone. Your point is pointless.

You are preaching to the pope. Tell me how could I more agree with you.

Claim??? The problems are a matter of record, and whether or not there was corruption in UEFA this time, it wouldn't be a first.

Since PL and UA were so keen to host it, it is not unreasonable - even entirely appropriate, to expect that both countries might have addressed the problem during the run up to the tournament. But no. They didn't. Though some of the sillier inhabitants are whining on the Internet after the fact.

Funny how he hasn't mentioned it in interviews that he's given about this topic. Do feel free to give us links which support your claims.


That is no excuse for not trying to make Poland better. And actually, after choosing to live here for so long and qualifying for Polish citizenship (and contributing a fairly large amount to Poland while having virtually nothing back), this is my country now.

Will you stop with that bollix!


Why isnt Rio Ferdinand in the squad? Why did Woy have to choose between him and captain John Terry?

Yes, they did join the EU and I bet some of them don't like it. Tell me something, do you like your country's policy? Do you always support it?

I don't think so and I bet, many Poles feel the same way about their government too.

Still, you have a choice to stay away from Poland if you don't like it.

Not true. Only part of Poland is like that, that which is full of infiriority complex, which seems to me the real question to be addressed and nobody has done it yet.

Hmm... isn't the only incident during matches said to be fault of Russian fans ?


OK so when the last time there were any problems during national team level matches in Poland ?

Better for who? You see, here we go, you want it to be better according to your standards and you're not Polish, right?
Whatever happens in Poland, has to be "better" for Poles and not for you or anyone else.

Balotelli was often racially abused in Italian league games. I should not have to prove. You obviously do not watch much football. If you saw Inter play when he was there you would see the abuse. You can probably find some clips on youtube. He does not talk about it much because he ignores it [or tries to]. He does not really want to give it any attention to talk about it in interviews so he generally stays clear of that type of discussion most of the time.

And racists in Poland have the choice of staying away from people who do not fit into their pondscum world view. Or of simply keeping their cretinous views to themeselves.