“RFU may take appropriate sanctions”
Midfielder Dmitry Tarasov was at the center of another scandal. The athlete has been subjected to obstruction more than once due to thoughtlessly abandoned phrases. This time, he unsuccessfully joked about the coronavirus, from which more than 1300 people have already died.
The footballer, who, due to the birth of his daughter, returned home for several days from the training camp of Kazan Rubin, had a haircut from his acquaintance barber Denis Lee. Sitting in a chair, the player took a picture with a hairdresser and uploaded this frame to the story of his Instagram account, adding the signature “Coronavirus” to it.
The opinion of commentators under this post was divided: some found this joke inappropriate and advised Tarasov not to joke at all, while others took the player’s side in the heated conflict.
Tina Kandelaki, the general producer of the Match TV channel, has become one of the most media persons who have so far spoken on this topic. She severely criticized the athlete and advised him to find a competent PR specialist.
“Before you publish such a photo, drawing a frankly inappropriate analogy between a person with an Asian appearance and a serious illness, think about what kind of reaction you will cause among your fans and haters,” Kandelaki wrote in her Telegram channel.
And soon Tarasov’s unsuccessful joke became interested in the organization “Football Against Racism” (FARE). There she was considered a "racist insult" and promised to contact the RFU.
"In the situation of combating the epidemic, such comparisons are xenophobic, unfortunately, we are increasingly seeing similar expressions in social networks and the media regarding players from Asia," the organization said.
“The RFU can take appropriate sanctions against a football player in accordance with disciplinary rules, you need to contact them for details,” the FARE RIA Novosti press service quotes.
After that, Tarasov had to lay out a post with a detailed explanation of what happened. In it, Dmitry emphasized that he did not want to offend anyone with his publication.
“Yesterday my friend came to me and part-time male haircutter and in the process of work told about a crazy stir around his person (they began to ask about his nationality and about the virus). You understand, this is not very nice. Without malicious intent, we laughed, and I laid out a story. What was my surprise when I again found out that my name was at the center of the scandal, ”the football player wrote on Instagram.
View this Instagram post
Home weekend passed quickly and tomorrow again to the camp. All these days I am extremely happy and in a state of euphoria. I joke a lot, laugh and enjoy the cozy atmosphere of the house. Yesterday my friend and part-time male hair-cutting master @dnslee came to me (I advise everyone, you won’t regret it) and in the process told me about the crazy excitement around me (they began to ask about his nationality and the virus), you understand how it’s not very nicely. Without malicious intent, we laughed and I laid out a story. What was my surprise when I again found out that my name was at the center of the scandal🤦🏼♂. Everyone who follows me knows that I’m joking a lot. Yes, this is not always appropriate, so you do not need to take my stupid humor seriously, especially since there was no direct comment on this matterчёт
Publication by Dmitry Tarasov (@ tarasov23) Feb 12, 2020 @ 8:05 am PST
At the same time, the footballer admitted that sometimes his jokes are “stupid”.
“Everyone who follows me knows that I’m joking a lot. Yes, this is not always appropriate, therefore, I do not need to take my stupid humor seriously, especially since there was no direct comment on this subject, ”Tarasov added.
Later, the barber Denis Lee himself spoke about the situation, admitting that recently, as information on the coronavirus spread, he literally felt uncomfortable: “A bunch of slanting looks and questions about nationality.”
According to Lee, the other day he came to Tarasov to congratulate him on the birth of his daughter, at the same time to cut and discuss the same topic of coronavirus.
“We laughed, because I can laugh at myself, and it was I who suggested signing the coronavirus story.” The next day, the topic was inflated to immense proportions, ”said Barber.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Barber 💇🏻♂️ Denis Lee 💎 (@dnslee) on Feb 12, 2020 at 1:28 pm PST
He also expressed surprise at the fact that racism allegations rained down on the player.
“If he were a racist, we would not be friends and we would not have so many mutual friends among other countries and republics. He’s not a racist and has never been one, and there are always many guys of different nationalities in his environment, ”Lee said.
Barber urged to stop "doing nonsense" and fan this topic: "Every day around the world about 100 million jokes on this subject and they do not carry any malicious intent!"
"Bream" for girls and unsuccessful jokes of England midfielder
Some Tarasov's jokes, indeed, sometimes turn out to be controversial. For example, at the end of last year, Dmitry in a video blog with his friend rapper T-Killah said that women can “be given bream.
“There is a limit, the red zone into which a woman should not go, is she pregnant or not. While not pregnant, she can get a bream right away, I think, ”the footballer said.
After that, Tarasova was condemned by the same Kandelaki, and the famous commentator Dmitry Guberniev called the footballer "an eccentric with a very large letter" M ". Moreover, information appeared in the media that the ex-wife of the athlete Olga Buzova, allegedly, repeatedly contacted the police because of the assault on his part. At the same time, the popular singer and TV presenter admitted that she really faced domestic violence.
Tarasov himself later recorded a special video on Instagram, in which he called his words a joke.
“We initially planned to just joke and bring to emotions. What is “bring on emotions”, what is “annoy your wives”? It is to discuss topics that in real life we are not discussing. It is strange to me that people took one phrase out of context and spread it just everywhere. About beating, violence and so on. This topic definitely does not concern me, ”the player explained.
And at the beginning of the year Dmitry became the hero of a rather funny situation. After the finals of the youth world championship between Canada and Russia, he congratulated the domestic team on the victory. But she was defeated. The thing is that Tarasov, apparently, watched the replay of the decisive match of the MFM-2011, which showed Match TV. However, the footballer soon said that the publication of this post was just a condition of the board game.
As for Tarasov’s last joke, he was not the first football player to decide to make the coronavirus a theme for humor. So, the midfielder of the English “Tottenham” Dele Alli in his account on Snapchat posted several videos from London Heathrow airport with the participation of Asians. The footballer has already apologized for his posts.
“I’m sorry to have published these videos. Immediately deleted them when he realized that it could hurt someone. In no case did not want this. I sincerely apologize to those whom I insulted, ”Ally quotes the“ Championship ”with reference to the Daily Star.
Despite an apology, the Football Association of England (FA) may impose serious sanctions on a player. According to media reports, he may be disqualified.