England, one of the developed countries in the world, a great empire in the past that has inherited the planet with the universal language for communication has also introduced the most popular game - football. Nowadays, the country is mostly famous because of having the best football league on Earth, of course some may argue that. Without loosing a word on further description, recently FA (Football Association) has been on the hot spot for two decisions that has influenced the clubs' and national teams. One was the 8 week ban that Luis Suarez (Liverpool forward) have taken for racist behaviour towards Patrice Evra (Manchester United defender) and second was John Terry (Chelsea defender) who has been stripped off his English national team captaincy, accused of the same matter.
Suarez who has accepted and paid for what he calls 'not an insult' and backed by Poyet (another footballer) who admits that "it is not an offence" in Spain. Evra, who has previously been proven to be rude and offensive to other players, has also been found to be the victim in this case (for more information on the story click on: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th article). Briefly, Saturday's game Man U vs Liverpool, has created disorder in the Premier League, when Suarez came back and missed to shake Evra's hand at the very beginning of the game. That behaviour has been framed 'a disgrace for Liverpool' by Sir Alex Ferguson (Man U's manager). Nevertheless, Sir Alex has stated after the win (2:1 for the Red Devils) that Suarez could have caused riots. Some may say, Man U manager is right because of his long-term positive reputation but others may argue that he is a diplomatic person who should not put additional pressure on the situation and instead Liverpool's player who could cause an incident, Ferguson with his statement might be the one to cause riots.
Leaving the club football and its crises on a side, for the moment, the National team of England has taken a hit a couple of days before the derby between Man U and Liverpool. Due to FA's decision not to allow John Terry to be the captain of England anymore, has made Fabio Capello resign as the national team's manager. In brief recall, England has always had strong football players and has always been named to be one of the favourites for the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Cup winner. However, scandals has always appeared, few months before each major competition, which has somehow affected the players' performance. Now, when around the corner is Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, England has lost its manager due to disagreement between him and the FA (for more info on the story click on: 1st, 2nd and 3rd article). Some may say in support for the Football Association that letting Capello resign has been a good and ethical decision. Nevertheless, others may argue that the FA has failed to support the national team by simply make an exception for the Euro and strip Terry off his captaincy after the conclusion of it. In support to the argument, now England should find a phenomenal manager, who will turn around the English national team in just few months and adapt the players to a new style of play and tactics in order to perform well in the competition. Coming back to the history, miracles have happened before when the national team of Denmark has gathered its players from summer resorts and have won the 1992 Euro Cup. Will this phenomena happen to the English football team, spectators, followers and fans will be awaiting to see.
Coming to an end, why in both cases PR practitioners/consultants are needed. In order to avoid further misunderstandings and/or stunt PR such as Evra's and Suarez's disgraceful behaviour for the club's football and the break down of the English national team just before a major event, public relations could have its word. Consultants will be able to take care of the reputation of the clubs by introducing the English laws (racism wise) to the players and give a brief communication advice on how and what to talk during interviews. Moreover, controversial decision could also be avoided by drawing on previous facts and history, which rather help in critical situations like racism accusation to take over. Early sincere apology from both players could have also be an easy solution that will calm down the already escalating negativism amongst clubs' and national team fans. However, there is a possibility that FA could have taken the right decision, and all of what have been said will turn from arguments to just words.
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