Do you guys consider Bilbao's player policy racist?

I don't think that you can allow such blatant and extreme discrimination on a team that plays in an elite league. It's a slippery slope... what if another team decides to take on a similar policy for their region?

They need to make a reasonable adjustment to that policy, football is evolving and they need to evolve along with other clubs, it will also help them get more fans and make more money.


They could make adjustment by allowing 5 non Basque player under 21 or so, at a time.

Could you imagine what would happen if Bayern had an all-Bavarian policy?!

Not at all.

In fact all of football should be like this...All about knowledge,no politics,no business,only the beauty of talent and ability of those who nurture it.

sportsczy wrote:Could you imagine what would happen if Bayern had an all-Bavarian policy?!

it will be absurd, we are smart enough not to apply such insane policy, otherwise we won't be a dominant club and the landmark of European football.

IMO it is not racist, but not really clever as they cut into their own flesh as they only have a much smaller player pool to choose from.

rwo power wrote:IMO it is not racist, but not really clever as they cut into their own flesh as they only have a much smaller player pool to choose from.

add to that, small fan base.

What's the policy?

They've never been relegated so I don't see how the policy has hindered them.

Vibe wrote:Not at all.

In fact all of football should be like this...All about knowledge,no politics,no business,only the beauty of talent and ability of those who nurture it.

That's just like international football.

"Basque" is not a race, so it can't be racist.

free_cat wrote:"Basque" is not a race, so it can't be racist.

Yeah.

Xenophobic maybe but definitely not racist.

Vibe wrote:Not at all.

In fact all of football should be like this...All about knowledge,no politics,no business,only the beauty of talent and ability of those who nurture it.

This is a thread about Athletic Bilbao lol

When race/nationality is the primary factor in signing players it is racist. I dont even know how they're not being sued for it.

So now we have a problem with a club with only purchasing local talent....

For starters it's not racist but who cares if it was, i wish more clubs were like Bilbao and not just throwing money around everywhere.

free_cat wrote:"Basque" is not a race, so it can't be racist.

there are no human races, the term racism today is used for any (ethnic, geographic, phenotype,etc..) discrimantion


on topic: i like the fact they use local talent, although yes it can be called racist to a degree.

EPL teams using local talent.

Racism is when you discriminate against a race. As far as i can see, Bilbao are not discriminating against any one particular race. They are just promoting their own local talent.

I guess this is only shocking to Americans or people who spent a lot of time there. In the US, this is illegal constitutionally. All employers must allow for equal opportunity or they get shut down...

It may not be racist technically. But it's blatant discrimination.

ELO wrote:

free_cat wrote:"Basque" is not a race, so it can't be racist.

there are no human races, the term racism today is used for any (ethnic, geographic, phenotype,etc..) discrimantion

on topic: i like the fact they use local talent, although yes it can be called racist to a degree.

Beat me to it. Was about to say that there is no such thing as human races.

And I agree. You could consider it "racist" but I don't really think it applies that much to football. If it was anything but a sports institution it would seem very out of place to have such a policy.

When you do it by region, it's no longer racist imo. Bayern sticking with Bavarians does not discriminate against any group, it simply requires residence - like running for office in the US. I would have a problem if they said "no Catholics" or "no Black players," but they're not saying anything along those lines.

Unless I'm way off base and one has to be of Basque descent as well as from the area to play for them?

There's no problem in promoting local talent, matter of fact i encourage that, but when your official policy is to sign only local players, which is restricting other equality talented outsiders from an equal apportunity, then it is racism. I understand that their policy is not intended to be racist but that's what it really is, its like an american corporation not hiring me because i wasnt born there. That's racist

It is not like they are targeting a particular group. They are only promoting from within. I just can't get my head around how you guys are terming this racist.

stevieg8 wrote:When you do it by region, it's no longer racist imo. Bayern sticking with Bavarians does not discriminate against any group, it simply requires residence - like running for office in the US. I would have a problem if they said "no Catholics" or "no Black players," but they're not saying anything along those lines.

Unless I'm way off base and one has to be of Basque descent as well as from the area to play for them?

what's the difference betwen discriminating by region and discriminating by nationality ?

stevieg8 wrote:When you do it by region, it's no longer racist imo. Bayern sticking with Bavarians does not discriminate against any group, it simply requires residence - like running for office in the US. I would have a problem if they said "no Catholics" or "no Black players," but they're not saying anything along those lines.

Unless I'm way off base and one has to be of Basque descent as well as from the area to play for them?

Not necessarily, for example Higuian is qualified to play for Bilbao through his grandfather.