Eto'o in an
interview with CNN today illustrated that racism is in all spheres of life and
not just in football. And that he has experienced racism severally.
He stated
that he was in London and he decided to purchase one particular wristwatch which
cost $15,000.
For a former
Premier League footballer, a hero in his native Cameroon, and one of the most
successful African footballers of all time, the prospect of buying a watch was
hardly the most daring of ordeals.
So after
taking a glance at the watch and getting out his credit card, he says he asked
the sales assistant for some help.
"I
asked the saleswoman -- who was also black like me -- 'Could you show me that
watch please?'
"First,
I saw her turn and look at her coworkers like, 'Uh, what should I do?'
"Eventually,
she let me see the watch. I looked at it and said, 'OK, I'll buy it.'
"I took
out my credit card and when she went to go run it through the machine, she came
back and said that it was declined.
"I
asked her, 'Was it declined or did you not want it to be accepted?' because
this has happened to me many times and she told me, 'No, it was
declined.'"
Eto'o, who
played in London with Chelsea last season, called his brother who was nearby
and it was he who brought a new credit card so the transaction could be
completed.
While Eto'o
does speak English, his brother has a far wider vocabulary and was able to ask
just what had occurred moments earlier.
"My
brother can afford this and the way you're treating him shows that you think
just because he's black, he can't afford this watch," said the sibling.
Eto'o then
takes up the story, saying the lady in the store said she was wary of him
because "we had some Nigerians in the store the other day who came with
fake credit cards."
"If one
of my own makes a mistake, they judge us all. Tomorrow, if a white man in
Africa makes a mistake, we should judge all white people? No!
"The
security guard from Senegal kept trying to justify what the lady said and I
asked him where he's from. When he told me, I said, 'Ahh. If I gave you my
name, you will recognize who I am?'
"He
shrugged and I said, 'I'm Eto'o.' He went, 'Nooooo! Just yesterday, my wife and
I were talking about you! Can I take a picture with you and send it to my
wife?'
"I
said, 'Yes, we can take a picture, but you made a mistake because you can't
judge people by the color of their skin,' so he told me it wasn't because of
our color.
"I told
the lady, 'In my next interview, I'm going to tell them about this and I'll
name the store so everyone can know that you treat people differently here,'
added Eto'o referring to the saleswoman.
"She
then realized that I could have reported what she had just done, but it was a
mistake. It was a mistake of her to categorize.
"I
don't think she's a racist person, but she stereotyped all black people as
'those people'."
Eto'o tells
this story to demonstrate his belief that racism is not just football's problem
but one that society as a whole must combat.
The Cameroon
international has played across the world in England, Italy, Spain as well as a
spell in Russia with Anzhi Makhachkala.
He says he
has experienced racism on and off the field, most famously during his time
playing for Barcelona.
In 2006,
during a game against Real Zaragoza, Eto'o was subjected to "monkey
chants" -- and the forward came close to walking off the pitch.
He says it
was only because of persuasion by his teammate Fran that he stayed on and helped
his side to a 2-0 victory.
In 2010,
while playing for Inter Milan at Cagliari, Eto'o was again subjected to racist
chanting which caused a three-minute stoppage to the contest.
The referee
addressed both captains while a message was also broadcast inside the stadium
warning supporters the game would be abandoned if the chanting did not stop.
Eto'o went
on to score the only goal of the game as Inter triumphed 1-0.
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