“It’s like watching Strictly”, Roy Keane’s rant about Brazil players dancing during the World Cup is still fresh in our minds.
Well, it seems his angry words have had no effect on players.
The Carabao Cup fixtures that have gone by saw not one, but TWO, dance routines from players. Talk about entertainment!
First was Dan Burn, from Newcastle United, doing a Fortnite dance routine in the dressing room to commemorate his goal and a victory against Leicester City.
Then came Nottingham Forest, who celebrated their EFL Cup quarterfinal victory in their locker room in a similar manner.
The video shows the players dancing and having a fantastic time, with some even performing the “Griddy” in their boxers.
However, the two instances have been met with two starkly different reactions.
Burn faced no flak, and was even applauded and harmlessly mocked for his dance.
The NFO celebrations, on the other hand, were met with considerable controversy, with some individuals believing that the players’ behaviour was excessive and even foolish.
Some common complaints that flooded the replies of the original tweet consisted of phrases like “grown men” or “shameless”.
The difference? Skin colour, according to Twitter.
For the benefit of anyone who doesn’t know, Burn is White while every NFFC player in the video is a person of colour, including Lingard and Aurier.
This again raises the question of how coloured athletes are viewed compared to fair-skinned ones.
Even in their happier and celebratory moments, naive and ignorant ones among us cannot digest the fact that Coloured players should behave in a certain manner, while not questioning the White ones for the same behaviour.
This sharp difference in the reactions emphasizes the double standard at work as well as the subtle racism prevalent in the UK.
And there is no question of age either. Burn himself is 30 years old, so the argument that the Forest players are experienced and whatnot holds no weight.
This raised the debate of racism amongst sharp-eyed internet users. One user very nicely pointed out that dancing is considered foolish, but at the same time getting “piss drunk” is considered respectable. Is it because it is more “white” to get drunk as compared to dancing?
Another point of contention put forward was how maybe all the hate was being directed at Lingard, everyone’s favourite punching bag, for dancing even though he himself has not contributed much despite being one of the higher earners in the team.
However, these arguments seem to ignore that players like Aurier or Morgan Gibbs-White were also facing backlash, despite playing the full 90. So what is the excuse now?
This whole “dancing is not acceptable” is coming just a few months after the whole world stood beside Vinicius Jr and started the viral #BailaVini movement in response to the racist Spanish commentator who mocked his dancing celebrations.
Must we do the whole dance again?