17 Apr 2008(Thu)

April 15, 2008: Amusing or offensive? Part of the game or over the top?

What is your take on "The Saitama Incident"?

I am talking, of course, about the ribald message from the Antlers fans to their Reds rivals before the big match at Saitama Stadium 2002 on Sunday.

It was meant to say "F**k You Reds", in three rows of large letters, but it never quite came together as the letters were passed up one by one over the crowd and assembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle.

The best they could manage was "F**k" on the top line (the two missing letters were correct -- congratulations), a sad and solitary "Y" on the middle line and a rather jumbled "R EOU" on the last line, with "D" and "S" floating near by.

This pre-match entertainment was actually more absorbing than the first half, as we watched the letters move up and down, across and back. In fact it was so entertaining I think the Antlers fans should construct a message before every game -- and offer a prize to the first person who gets it right.

When it finally became obvious what the message was intended to say, it told us two things: That the bitter rivalry between these two clubs had just taken an irrevocable turn for the worse; and that there is a serious shortage of English teachers in Ibaraki Prefecture, perhaps because everyone studies Portuguese so they can talk like Z**o.

Undeterred, the Antlers fans had another go at half time, abandoning the three-line message to settle for a more brutal "F**k Reds".

A colleague suggested wittily that they should have held up only the word "F**k" at the final whistle, having lost 2-0, but after Nagai's second goal the Antlers fans were in no mood for humour.

The reaction from media people close by was mixed.

One said it was "great" because it highlighted the fierce rivalry between the clubs, with Urawa the Manchester United and Kashima the Liverpool of Japan.

Another pointed out that the Japanese did not fully appreciate the impact or the severity of the "F" word, and that it was intended to provoke fun, not hostility.

After the game, Reds manager Gert Engels said he was happy he had not seen the message. "It is offensive. It has nothing to do with the franchise, with the team. It is not classy," he said.

On this point I have to agree with Engels.

I thought it was offensive, provocative, too much. I am all for intense rivalries between teams and fans as a Japanese football culture develops, but you wonder what the next step could be after The Saitama Incident. Hopefully it will just involve banners.

I think, therefore, that Kashima should offer a sincere apology. They should bow deeply to the Reds fans, say they are extremely sorry for offending the Asian Champions League winners and give them all free posters of Z**o. Or Nozawa.

And what would be Reds' reply?

I reckon it might just start with an "F"...

ends